Law and regulation

The CFPB's decision to drop a requirement that third parties verify a debt's accuracy before collecting on it is likely to speed the agency's efforts to write rules for all parts of the debt collection market.

The Erie County, N.Y., Legislature unanimously adopted a resolution asking for a state law that would enable local leaders to shorten the foreclosure timetable for bank-owned vacant homes.

While the courts have affirmed cities’ right to file predatory lending suits, they are also now holding them to a much higher standard in proving that banks knowingly steered minority borrowers into high-cost home loans.

Following the lead of other California cities, Mayor Eric Garcetti two years ago proposed charging a fee on construction and using those funds to build affordable housing in Los Angeles.

The House passed a bill that assigns Qualified Mortgage status to loans that banks hold in portfolio.

A week after officials disclosed a 57% rise in Los Angeles' veteran homelessness, advocates say the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is delaying housing development on its West Los Angeles campus.

The ICBA backs a plan to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie through retained earnings and public offerings, but other groups see it as a self-interested proposal to help GSE stockholders.

Democrats and Republicans, who have agreed on little this year, have found common ground on plans to give private insurers greater access to the $5 billion flood insurance program and to offer more buyouts for homeowners in areas likely to be repeatedly submerged.

FHFA Director Mel Watt sketched a regulatory vision that included greater scrutiny of funding mechanisms and large exposures to single borrowers.

President Trump has nominated Paul Compton, an Alabama attorney with affordable housing experience, to serve as general counsel for HUD.