Economy

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee said growing uncertainty and risks in the financial system mean the central bank should increase the countercyclical capital buffer for the nation's largest lenders.

President Trump said Thursday that he will nominate Stephen Miran, who currently serves as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, as the next member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Miran is a key architect of President Donald Trump's tariff policy.

President Trump's imposition of sweeping tariffs on more than 90 countries Thursday represents a major shift in the U.S. trade stance, but the impact on inflation, the Federal Reserve and the economy are still unclear.

Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday to pitch public stock offerings for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

GSE loans acquired in the period have higher loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios and lower credit scores, which Milliman said boosted serious default risk.

The removal of the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics is unlikely to change government data practices in the near term, experts say, but the perception of interference will have a big effect on the credibility of government economic metrics going forward.

President Donald Trump is bringing in bank leaders to meet with him one by one at the White House. Beyond the economic discussion, there's a chance at a big payday for their firms.

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday imposing new tariff rates on trading partners that take effect Friday, the White House said. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during his regular press conference Wednesday that the process of determining tariff-related price increases was always going to be slow, but it has taken longer than he expected.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee is expected to leave interest rates unchanged again Wednesday amid reports of renewed economic growth in the second quarter and despite ramped up pressure from the White House to cut rates.

The CDFI Fund has yet to announce and disburse awards for five programs, even though applications closed months ago, the lawmakers said in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.

The Senate Banking Committee passed a housing package that includes funding for manufactured and other kinds of housing, but also includes an appraisal provision that mortgage bankers oppose.

Given FHFA Director Bill Pulte's history of making regulatory pronouncements via X, some theorize the release of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could occur in the same way.

Eagle Bancorp in Maryland took a major quarterly loss due to challenges in its office loan portfolio. It's one of many banks working to trim down their commercial real estate loan books.

Fannie Mae also foresees more home sales than it did in June, but the Mortgage Bankers Association reduced its origination projections for 2025.

While existing home sales aren't measured in GDP, many of the things which come along with it are, and those are likely to start trending down, First American said.

For the second consecutive week mortgage rates moved higher, as the likelihood of the Federal Reserve acting diminished after the Consumer Price Index report.

Lorie Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said in a speech Wednesday that she is content to leave interest rates where they are, adding that she would want to see inflation fall to 2% before considering cuts.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the consumer price index rose to 0.3% in June to an annualized rate of 2.7%, making the case to cut interest rates more difficult for the Federal Reserve to justify at its next meeting later this month.

Calls for applications for a bank-specific program within the Community Development Financial Institution Fund have been delayed, raising the possibility that those funds are unspent before the appropriated money expires.