Politics

The quasi-public entity's plan to buy certain closed-end seconds would constitute "unnecessary government encroachment," the Structured Finance Association said.

In a Senate hearing, Director Sandra Thompson said a raise to the required income threshold provided to affordable housing was on the table, while housing regulators also faced questions related to property insurance hikes and title insurance waivers.

The CFPB has dissolved the Office of Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending and eliminated the job of associate director in a move that impacts how it designates nonbanks for supervision.

The push comes amid what one expert highlighted as lax funding efforts for two Department of Housing and Urban Development grant programs.

The Federal Reserve chair's comments coincide with the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington. They also come as groups like the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision are being scrutinized.

The Federal Home Loan Bank System stepped up advances by 37% or more to Silicon Valley, Signature and First Republic banks ahead of their failures, the GAO says in a post-mortem on last year's banking crisis. The findings add to the debate about whether the system should be a lender of last resort.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., detailed how New York Community Bancorp grew to exceed the $100 billion threshold that triggers tougher regulatory requirements and set the bank on a path to market turmoil via a series of deals that were approved, in part, by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The move advances the Biden administration's interest in testing whether skipping a title insurance policy or an alternative for some mortgages would be a cost-saver.

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that pursuing a rulemaking on forced arbitration, as laid out by consumer advocates' rulemaking petition, would be an "affront to Congress."

Mortgage companies can submit requests on behalf of more than 40,000 borrowers who need the new VA Servicing Purchase program starting at the end of next month.

The Federal Reserve Board governor and frequent regulatory critic says it would be appropriate for the U.S. to deviate from the agreed-upon international standards to reflect "unique characteristics" of the American banking system.

Unintended consequences of shifting the burden for title insurance to the lender could end up harming consumers, several observers said.

The memorandum creates channels for sharing information about nonbanks between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.

Tracy Stephan's appointment to the new role is in line with broader federal directives follows other changes in staffing in the Office of Financial Technology.

The new expiration for waivers, which is now set for a date after November, adds uncertainty about the fate of a proposed policy that would replace the temporary, pandemic-era servicing rules.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg said the agency would prioritize urging banks to invest in underserved communities as part of a revised economic inclusion plan unveiled Thursday.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr Wednesday discussed regulators' ongoing concerns over banks' unrealized losses and commercial real estate values — particularly in the office sector.

A federal judge in Texas sided with bank trade groups, agreeing that bank regulators might have overstepped their authority in reforming parts of the Community Reinvestment Act.

Harmonizing standards for liquidity coverage ratios and discount window pledges could prevent the type of strains that led to last year's bank failures, according to a new paper whose authors include former Federal Reserve Govs. Dan Tarullo and Jeremy Stein.

The National Flood Insurance Program would ideally be approved yearly, but instead it has gone through 29 reauthorizations since 2017.