On Thursday night, the Trump administration fired dozens of employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to an email obtained by American Banker. Most of the workers targeted had been hired by former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

North American banks face heightened anti-money laundering scrutiny and a few related variables will determine whether or not this leads to more mortgage sales.

A House Financial Services Committee spokesperson said the committee will hold its required semiannual hearing with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director after nominee Jonathan McKernan is confirmed rather than with interim director Russell Vought.

The White House has tapped former Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Director Jonathan McKernan to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and attorney Jonathan Gould to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency late Tuesday.

A stop-work order from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's newly appointed acting director Russell Vought has created uncertainty about the future of consumer-oriented enforcement activity.

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, the president was asked if he wanted to eliminate the bureau. "I would say, yeah," Trump replied. "Because we're trying to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse."

A former Biden official called the bureau protection against another housing crisis. The current White House calls it a "weaponized arm of the bureaucracy."

The government-sponsored enterprises were not meant to remain in conservatorship permanently, but privatizing them once again must include a new set of rules that minimize market disruptions and maximize their focus on making homeownership affordable.

A survey of senior bank officers at community banks by fintech firm IntraFi found bankers nearly evenly divided on the idea of merging federal bank regulators, while an overwhelming 93% support maintaining agency independence.

The acting leader is a co-author of the conservative playbook in which a former Fannie Mae and HUD director calls for abolishing the regulator.

A rally outside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington Monday afternoon boasted 17 lawmakers and roughly 600 attendees, organizers said, who were decrying Trump administration efforts to effectively shutter the bureau.

McKernan, a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s board of directors, offered measured resistance to Biden-era bank regulation and led on a number of issues including cracking down on the influence of asset managers who hold stakes in FDIC-insured banks.

Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Russell Vought ordered bureau employees to "stand down" and perform no work, effective immediately.

Newly-confirmed Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025, has been charged with overseeing an agency Republicans have vowed to eliminate, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, now led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, agreed to temporarily halt enforcement and litigation over its medical debt rule, handing the banking industry an immediate reprieve.

With the Federal Reserve eyeing changes to its annual examination of large bank resilience, this year's test could be the last of its kind.

Mortgage companies under scrutiny could see a reprieve, while the status of functions like behind-the-scenes guidance inquiries is uncertain, experts say.

Mortgage and housing industry groups cheered the U.S. Senate vote, which found only two Democrats crossing over to support Scott Turner's nomination.

Since the National Association of Realtors changed its commission payment rules on Aug. 17, the impact on agent compensation has varied.

The Federal Reserve Board lifted two enforcement actions against the megabank dating back to 2011. But the Fed's seven-year-old asset cap remains in effect.