Policymaking

HUD Secretary Ben Carson has spent much of his first year trying to convince lenders they wouldn't be harshly penalized if FHA-guaranteed loans went bad. But he still has a ways to go.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and four other Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are insisting on a recorded vote by the full Senate for the nomination of Brian Montgomery as Federal Housing Administration commissioner.

The legislation and public perceptions of it are expected to play a major role in 2018 elections that will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday that it plans to reopen its rulemaking for the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and will not assess penalties against mortgage lenders for any errors in data collected in 2018.

Earlier versions of the bill would have caused bigger changes in how Americans finance home purchases, higher education and retirement. Still, the final legislation will have important effects on borrowing and saving decisions.

For decades, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped working-class Americans get mortgages. That essential and powerful role in the national economy is fading.

The government-sponsored enterprises are at the heart of our housing finance problems, not the solutions.

Top officials at the Internal Revenue Service met with mortgage industry groups this week to discuss possible fixes to the agency’s verification system, which lenders rely on to process mortgage loans.

The House vote moved a sharp reduction in the corporate tax rate for banks and other businesses to within a few steps of becoming law.

With tax reform close to the finish line, bankers are still clear winners from the compromise worked out between House and Senate negotiators. But the bill includes some caveats that might give institutions pause.

The Obama administration had tried to ease restrictions on the Federal Housing Administration's condominium program, but the agency under President Trump is seen as moving more aggressively.

The House Financial Services Committee, by a vote of 60-0, approved a bill amending key provisions of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008.

The agency has suffered a series of setbacks over the past two months, from a rollback of its arbitration rule to a legal battle over its leadership. Here's what happened — and where the agency might lose next.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is eliminating a plan designed to ensure its examiners did not get too close to the big banks they supervise.

In a letter to President Trump, 44 Democratic senators said the White House's appointment of Mick Mulvaney as interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau "jeopardizes the agency’s independence and effectiveness."

Richard Cordray, whose resignation as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sparked a battle over the agency's leadership, plans to announce on Tuesday he's running for Ohio governor as a Democrat.

Numerous business sectors are urging lawmakers to act quickly to extend the National Flood Insurance Program before a crucial deadline next week.

Richard Cordray took a big gamble in his final act as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, attempting to appoint his own interim successor. He lost Tuesday, but he was far from the only one.

District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled Tuesday that Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney was the legal interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, denying a request by Deputy Director Leandra English to block the appointment.

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said he would "fix" the CFPB by ensuring it protected consumers without cutting off access to financial services. His comments came as a federal judge declined to rule yet on the legality of Mulvaney's appointment.