Financial regulations

Graham Steele, a former Senate Banking Committee staffer who has supported strong regulation, was named as the administration's choice for assistant secretary of financial institutions.

Contrary to the myth perpetrated by many in Washington, IMBs do not pose any real taxpayer financial risk or systemic risk, writes the CEO of Union Home Mortgage and member of the Community Home Lenders Association.

“Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Mark Calabria’s decisions to date are conservative and imply a slow death for the GSEs and IMBs operating in the conventional market,” analyst Chris Whalen writes.

Stuck between local zoning hurdles and a lack of ideal federal financing, ADUs could be an important aspect to unlocking much-needed inventory.

The nominees, strongly backed by progressive Democrats to lead two key Wall Street watchdogs, signal that the Biden administration is planning tough oversight after four years of light-touch policies under appointees of President Trump.

Default risks soar in minority neighborhoods during challenging economic times because, data shows, homes there are overpriced relative to incomes. Zoning and other changes could make loans more affordable by boosting housing stock and driving down prices.

In an open letter, industry veteran Thomas Vartanian outlines the steps the administration can take to encourage innovation, better detect cyber threats and modernize regulation.

The agency’s final rule modernizing the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act limits calls to seven per week, but collectors won stronger protections from liability claims and other key changes to the original proposal.

A 2019 decision by Amy Coney Barrett, then a 7th Circuit judge, cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling suggesting a high bar for plaintiffs to claim harm. But other jurists have favored a less onerous standard.

The agency’s consolidation of supervision and enforcement policy into one office could compromise the independence of those deciding when to investigate alleged wrongdoing by banks and others, critics of the move say.

The American Dream Down Payment Act would let states establish and manage accounts, which would be similar in structure to 529 college savings plans.

The agency has proposed letting firms seek specific guidance, which can be applied to other institutions. But consumer groups worry the plan circumvents formal rulemaking.

Five Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee sent a letter to Director Kathy Kraninger calling the agency's response to COVID-19 “tepid and ineffectual at best.”

Refinancing activity is surging, existing borrowers are inquiring about loan modifications, loan closings are being delayed by more complex credit checks — and banks are short on people to handle it all.

Leonard Chanin, a senior official at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has been tapped to serve on a part-time basis as the No. 2 official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a news report.

In the past, the agency cited the legal term in enforcement actions without stating what it meant, but Director Kathy Kraninger has sought to give the industry clearer guidance.

Former CFPB Director Richard Cordray and consumer advocates have designed a proposed state consumer agency that would subject more financial firms and fintechs to state oversight.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to ask the legislature to revamp the current Department of Business Oversight and rename it the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, modeled after the federal CFPB.

A new National Credit Union Administration proposal would raise the threshold for residential mortgages that require appraisals. However, the final rule is by no means a done deal.

Draft legislation would amend the Bank Service Company Act to give the National Credit Union Administration third-party vendor oversight, a power it has been requesting for the better part of two decades.