Regulatory reform

As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist, they must have adequate capital so taxpayers will never again be compelled to help them meet their financial obligations.

Clearing the bill through the House has value, giving baseline legislative language that the Senate might select in a more modest legislative package.

Senators on both sides of the aisle paid lip service Thursday to giving relief to community banks and credit unions, but didn't appear closer to specifics of what would be in a bill.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he wants policymakers to flesh out a potential return of the Glass-Steagall Act, but wasn't sure if it should separate commercial and investment banking.

There is a great opportunity this year to show the world that Congress can still pass bipartisan, common-sense legislation that helps lift the U.S. economy.

The Senate Banking Committee may pass a number of small legislative proposals to help banks and credit unions, but the panel is still figuring out what sort of package can ultimately be agreed upon, top Democrats said Tuesday.

The ICBA backs a plan to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie through retained earnings and public offerings, but other groups see it as a self-interested proposal to help GSE stockholders.

While a House bill expected to be passed this week has little chance in the Senate, some of its individual provisions could be enacted by Congress, including one aimed at banks' systemic threshold.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the direct crosshairs of a federal lawsuit questioning its leadership structure. But it might be the independence of all federal agencies on trial.

A bill to overhaul the Dodd-Frank Act could get a vote in the full House as early as June 7.

The Government Accountability Office has agreed to a request by a GOP lawmaker to examine whether Congress can reject regulators' guidance.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was pressed for his views on housing finance reform, what a “modernized” version of the Glass-Steagall Act would look like and a two-tiered regulatory system.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be able to rebuild a capital buffer to avoid any potential crisis in the mortgage market, according to a coalition of affordable housing advocates, homebuilders and small mortgage lender groups.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected to face tough questions on the OCC, Glass-Steagall and housing finance reform when he testifies on Thursday.

A House Republican bill would allow lax lending standards to creep back into the financial system by gutting the CFPB, according to a letter from 158 law professors and scholars.

Democrats in the House and Senate introduced a bill Tuesday that would get rid of an obscure legislative process that has handcuffed rulemakings from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators.

The GOP is working on a plan that could extend the Congressional Review Act's reach so that it may overturn certain policies all the way back to 1996.

FHFA Director Mel Watt warned Thursday that to prevent a potential draw on the Treasury Department by the government-sponsored enterprises, he is willing to act unilaterally to rebuild capital at Fannie and Freddie.

The National Association of Realtors sent a letter to the Senate backing the temporary resumption of a tax break for homeowners with mortgage forgiveness.

If proposed tax cuts were enacted, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be required to make an initial adjustment that could wipe out their capital.