Policymaking

Senators dove into how to ensure housing finance reform serves lenders of all sizes, just as the Trump administration moved closer to crafting its own GSE plan.

The government-sponsored enterprises have continued to expand over the past decade, despite being in conservatorship. New leadership at the FHFA should reverse this trend.

Recent remarks from top officials at the FDIC and Fed suggest the agencies' recent impasse over reforming the Community Reinvestment Act may be ending.

As debate over the future of the mortgage finance system heats up, policymakers must ensure that small banks and credit unions maintain equitable access to the secondary market.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold two hearings at the end of March on Chairman Mike Crapo’s most recent framework for housing finance reform.

The House Financial Services Committee debated legislation Wednesday to reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, but no clear solution emerged.

The secretary of housing and urban development plans to "finish out this term" but wants to return to "the private sector because I think you have just as much influence, maybe more."

Private flood insurance rules that go into effect this summer have a safe harbor for some policies, but determining whether others are compliant could be a time-consuming, imprecise and costly exercise.

The House Financial Services Committee will hold eight hearings next month, looking at Wells Fargo's recent consumer protection scandals, a reauthorization of the flood insurance program and more.

Policymakers could improve independent mortgage banks' financial stability by giving these companies improved access to liquidity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The administration is sending conflicting signals on whether it has a plan to overhaul the housing finance system, further complicating an already complex debate.

Recent data from the Federal Reserve suggests lenders are growing pessimistic about the credit environment. But is that a sign of trouble ahead, or just sound risk management?

Depository mortgage lenders are optimistic the final version of a regulation designed to open up the flood insurance market will make it easier for them to comply with a rule requiring them to accept private carrier policies.

As policymakers consider administrative reforms to Fannie and Freddie, they must address the problem of capital arbitrage to avoid overleveraging the mortgage system.

Policymakers should not let mortgage REITs, hedge funds and other firms gain membership through captive insurance companies.

A lapse in rental-assistance funding, an understaffed FHA and other effects of the government shutdown are causing real harm to families, said the chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

The agency wants mortgage servicers to extend special forbearance plans to those affected by the partial government shutdown and evaluate borrowers for loss-mitigation options.

The banking industry has long been critical of the government-sponsored enterprise, but the system could provide valuable banking services to large swaths of the country currently lacking access to them.

Borrowers and financial institutions may be feeling the strain from reduced operations at the FHA and IRS, which has suspended the release of certain income documentation during the budget impasse.

In her New Year’s message, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger called on the agency to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and that “the marketplace is innovating.”