Politics

The battle gaining the most attention Tuesday night will be which party controls the House next year. But other key races will help determine the makeup of the Senate Banking Committee.

The housing finance agency, which is increasingly at the forefront of reform discussions, has been without a permanent chief for almost two years.

The result could play a big role in whether banks see more regulatory relief next year or policymakers can coalesce around a housing finance reform plan.

Despite recriminations about how the crisis and ensuing regulations have tightened loan access, an actual assessment of mortgage credit availability finds the situation is more complicated.

A new analysis of mortgage data demonstrates how default rates, not just approval and decline rates, can be used to evaluate findings of unfair treatment in lending.

Questions surrounding Eric Blankenstein, a senior CFPB official whose racially charged writings from over a decade ago have led to calls for his resignation, have been referred to the agency's watchdog.

The Federal Housing Administration is looking to streamline its single-family loan servicing requirements to align them with industry standards and upgrade outdated technology.

Proposition 10 would give local jurisdictions a freer hand to restrict rents, but critics say that would lead to property devaluations. Some see an effect regardless of whether the measure passes.

Shannon McGahn will depart the House committee next week and will join the National Association of Realtors as senior vice president of government affairs.

At least six Trump administration picks to fill financial posts are still pending, but the bitterly partisan divide over Judge Brett Kavanaugh has taken up most of the energy in Congress.

State officials have lost two rounds in a lawsuit that says California improperly diverted money intended for homeowners to make payments on housing bonds.

As the demand for home rentals continues to rise, regulatory burdens could decrease the multifamily housing supply and drive up costs, witnesses said at a congressional hearing.

The new policy, meant to assist borrowers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will let servicers evaluate borrowers using pre-disaster payment information.

The state became the first in the country to ask federal regulators for a temporary waiver, citing a shortage of available appraisers.

The Senate recess is postponing the committee's vote as Democrats press Kathy Kraninger on involvement with zero-tolerance immigration policy at OMB.

Conservatives will continue to fight for the kinds of reforms embodied in the Choice Act for decades to come, and history suggests they will likely win out.

With the program set to expire July 31, the House bill will have to be reconciled with Senate legislation that includes a longer extension.

Reps. Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., introduced a bipartisan package of legislation Tuesday to extend the National Flood Insurance Program through Nov. 30.

Brian Montgomery is examining why the reverse mortgage program has suffered big losses, but he said he opposes any changes that could make it harder for the elderly to stay in their homes.

The California Democrat would have more of a bully pulpit as chair of the Financial Services Committee, but some say she could take a pragmatic approach to passing banking legislation.