Regulatory reform

Todd Zywicki, a law professor who has sharply criticized the CFPB as an unaccountable bureaucracy, has been named chair of an agency task force identifying potential conflicts and inconsistencies in consumer finance law.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria discussed the possibility of having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac operate under a consent order to allow the government-sponsored enterprises to be able to raise capital.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed an overhaul of an Obama-era rule meant to guide local jurisdictions in how they comply with the Fair Housing Act.

Polls showing an upswing for President Trump's re-election chances against top potential Democratic candidates favor housing finance and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to Height Capital Markets.

A risk-based capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is expected to top the agenda in 2020 as the companies' regulator executes plans for their release into the private sector.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a busy policy agenda heading into the new year, as well as strong external forces that are beyond its control.

Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are pressuring Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuch to provide more details on administration plans to end the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Despite assurances by Director Kathy Kraninger that the agency is cracking down on discrimination, it has not filed an enforcement action or sent a Department of Justice referral on a fair-lending violation in two years.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed a plan that would exempt the Federal Home Loan Banks from conducting stress tests.

The agency’s director previewed a policy for companies under enforcement action to have their orders terminated if they comply ahead of schedule.