Trump administration

A new bill would increase the capacity of state and local housing finance agencies to issue tax-free municipal housing bonds by exempting them from the PAB cap.

President Donald Trump's administration has reportedly sent a letter to Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook detailing his reasons for finding cause to remove her from office after the Supreme Court ruled in her favor earlier this summer.

Mark Paoletta, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's chief legal officer, has taken over as the agency's acting director. Russell Vought's term ended Aug. 1.

Brian Johnson, President Trump's nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, navigated a somewhat contentious Senate Banking Committee hearing dominated by Democratic opposition but without giving away specific plans he has for the agency.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing Thursday on whether to confirm Brian Johnson, a former Capital One executive and deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Trump's first term to lead the agency permanently.

The private student loan market figures to benefit from Republican-led changes to the much larger federal program. But other consumer lenders could face a fallout as more Americans are forced to reconsider which debt payments to prioritize.

Christopher Phelan, President Donald Trump's nominee to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, declined to directly answer questions about recent inflation data and the effects of tariffs on consumers during a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday.

The Senate Banking Committee is slated to consider Christopher Phelan to be the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers on Thursday. Phelan has said in past academic papers that fractional reserve banking is "highly problematic."

Guidance documents from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network heightening bank scrutiny of individual tax identification numbers in mortgage applications could discourage banks from issuing those kinds of loans.

The newly minted Fed chairman announced working groups for his five top policy priorities and strictly refrained from forward guidance in his debut press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Newly minted Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will host his inaugural press conference on Wednesday. Bankers will be paying close attention to what he says — and how he says it.

Banking Committee Democrats warned that the Trump administration's failure to nominate Democrats to vacancies at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Securities and Exchange Commission and National Credit Union Administration threatens the bipartisan structure Congress established for financial regulators.

Mortgage industry participants say Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's new role as acting director of national intelligence could imperil progress on a potential initial public offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte won the White House's favor by acting as an attack dog for the administration, using his agency's data to target President Trump's political enemies with fraud allegations, though those efforts have not withstood judicial scrutiny.

President Donald Trump administered Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's oath of office in a ceremony Friday morning. Warsh is expected to pursue changes at the central bank, including a push to reduce its $6.7 billion balance sheet. 

The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Kevin Warsh to lead the central bank. Warsh will take the reins from Jerome Powell, who said he will remain on the Federal Reserve Board.

Market watchers say that the economy as a whole is holding up under higher energy prices and do not expect a recession. Even so, observers are watching financial markets and consumer spending for signs that inflation expectations are taking hold.

The new law, which will mandate the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve or deny loan applications within 30 days, passed with wide bipartisan support.

Market watchers think Jerome Powell will maintain a low-key presence on the Fed board as he awaits the release of an inspector general report examining cost overruns at the central bank's headquarters.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told reporters Wednesday that he would remain on the Fed board after his term as chair expires next month, resolving the last and most significant open question about his departure and the onset of Kevin Warsh's leadership at the central bank.