Politics

Republican-led bills seeking to reverse adjustments to mortgage fees and a bipartisan bill aiming to reinstate tax deductions on mortgage insurance stand to change operations for lenders if they pass.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra faces tough questions next week testifying before the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee.

Federal bank regulators issued proposed guidelines for banks and other mortgage lenders to craft policies around reconsideration of value requests. The move is the latest aimed at rooting out bias in home appraisals.

The bill would update mortgage revenue bonds and credit certificates, which are both administered by housing finance agencies.

The GOP has launched multiple proposals with this aim and a trade group is specifically backing an expansive one from Rep. Warren Davidson, R.-Ohio.

Six regulatory agencies are seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would establish best practices for using automated valuation models to assess collateral.

The fact that rates are higher than they were at origination for many distressed borrowers has made it tough to lower payments and this new type of partial claim may help.

The Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania-based financial institution, from 2017 to 2021, did not sufficiently serve the credit needs of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia, the DOJ alleges.

House Republicans will likely need to gain support from Democrats to get the debt limit deal through a critical vote in the House Wednesday evening.

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Philip Jefferson, who has been tapped to serve as vice chair of the central bank, said the new rules will standardize capital requirements and increase transparency.

Once it is free to issue new debt, the Treasury Department is expected to quickly replenish its general account at the Fed. The move could lead to a shortage of reserves.

House Financial Services Committee ranking member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., attempted to find bipartisan support from Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., for a number of amendments to bills meant to rein in regulators. What she got instead was a commitment to work on some measures in the future.

The Federal Reserve Board governor said secular increases to the currency supply limits how much the central bank can shrink its holdings.

During her opening remarks before lawmakers Tuesday, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency reiterated that borrowers with strong credit profiles are not being penalized to benefit those with poorer scores.

Only an act of Congress can allow the lenders to become members, two bank presidents emphasized.

Recent bank troubles mean agency MBS, multifamily and jumbo mortgage activity are set for changes, analysts said at an industry conference.

Some stakeholders have worried about the estimated date for the transition to a new way of calculating credit worthiness, but an official assured attendees at an industry conference that the agency won't act prematurely.

The Community Home Lenders of America is asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator to consider automatic indemnification on performing loans with flaws.

At least $83 million worth of loans were insured by the FHA without lenders following the necessary protocols, the department's inspector general claims.

The regulator, which is seeking to halt the combination, said arguments involving constitutionality of its proceedings are "impertinent" and "immaterial."