Law and regulation

Brian Montgomery seems on his way to being confirmed to lead the Federal Housing Administration. But once he gets there, he may find it difficult to be as innovative as he was during his first stint as commissioner — particularly when it comes to reducing FHA premiums.

Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are privately questioning why outgoing director Richard Cordray abruptly tapped a 34-year-old chief of staff with no enforcement, supervisory or legal experience to head the embattled agency after he resigned.

The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the nomination of Brian Montgomery to serve as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, despite ongoing criticism from some Democrats that he is too close to the financial services industry.

The former bank CEO is widely expected to continue the recent push to implement a more industry-friendly agenda.

Leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to be resolved quickly after a federal court Monday assigned a judge appointed by President Trump to resolve a lawsuit over who will become the agency's acting director.

The Trump administration insisted Saturday that OMB Director Mick Mulvaney was the rightful interim leader of the CFPB, but Democrats said that the appointment was illegal. It remains unclear who is legally in charge.

The outcome of a case testing the president's power to fire a CFPB director will come too late to impact Richard Cordray, but may affect President Trump's interim and final picks to lead the agency.

The resignation of CFPB Director Richard Cordray gives President Trump the chance to name a director who could roll back agency rules and supervisory policies.

From Secretary Carson easing lending concerns to Fannie Mae announcing its expansion of Day 1 Certainty, here's a look at seven things we learned at the 2017 MBA Annual.

The CFPB's practice of "regulation by enforcement" forces mortgage companies to develop compliance standards based on the mistakes of their peers, rather than clear guidance from the enforcement agency, said David Motley, the new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association.