Regulatory relief

A regulatory relief package is likely to come out of the Senate in the new year, and lawmakers could follow it up with a housing finance reform push. But the midterm elections could cause some reform initiatives to grind to a halt.

The House Financial Services Committee passed 13 bills (and scrapped a vote on one) Wednesday, including one that would stop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from being released by the government and another hailed as helping the underbanked in rural areas.

The Senate Banking Committee's passage of a regulatory relief bill is fueling optimism about its advancement, but it still must clear a series of legislative hurdles before becoming law.

A bipartisan Senate alliance working on a bank regulatory relief bill appeared even stronger Tuesday as it worked to minimize changes in the interest of moving the legislative package to the Senate floor.

The ill will between Democrats and Republicans in the controversy over appointing an acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief adds a new wrinkle to bipartisan efforts to pass regulatory relief.

Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are privately questioning why outgoing director Richard Cordray abruptly tapped a 34-year-old chief of staff with no enforcement, supervisory or legal experience to head the embattled agency after he resigned.

The regulatory relief bill would raise the SIFI threshold to $250 billion of assets and allow mortgages held in portfolio to be counted as "qualified," among other items, but it is far less sweeping than institutions had hoped.

During the past year, many have hoped for action from Washington that would alleviate regulatory burden and stem the rapid pace of consolidation. But in the current political environment, that appears increasingly unlikely.

Trump officials have made clear their intent to reexamine how Federal Housing Administration lenders are cited under the False Claims Act, but whether that means lenders can rest easier is an open question.

During his time as Fed governor, chair-designate Jerome Powell has outlined his views on a host of bank regulatory matters, including the need for regulatory relief, the push for housing finance reform, blockchain and much more.

In a somewhat surprising decision, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling announced his retirement from Congress on Tuesday, but speculation immediately grew that he could fill a regulatory post.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray sent a letter to President Trump Monday asking him to veto a Republican resolution to nullify the bureau's arbitration rule.

If President Trump picks Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell as its next chair, it may represent the best of all worlds for bankers — a policymaker who will continue the central bank's monetary policy but be open to regulatory changes.

Republicans were able to use an obscure legislative process to overturn a rule that banks and credit unions feared would raise their litigation costs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in part to ensure that nonbanks are subject to federal oversight, but the fact is that 99% of banks are exempt from CFPB supervision.

Lawmakers like Sen. Tim Scott may feel differently about some elements in a Senate regulatory relief bill depending on whether CFPB Director Cordray is remaining in office until his term expires in July.

The need to raise the U.S. debt limit, pass a budget, provide relief for victims of Hurricane Harvey and enact flood insurance and tax reform will dominate the remaining legislative calendar this fall.

Lenders will not have to report data on open-ended home equity lines of credit in 2018 or 2019 if they originated fewer than 500 HELOCs the preceding year, the bureau said.

Financial regulation is too complex and needs to be retooled to improve access to credit, President Trump’s nominees to two top banking regulators told Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Fed Vice Chair-nominee Randal Quarles will likely face questions about his support for small banks, while Comptroller-nominee Joseph Otting must face fallout from his predecessor.