CFPB embraces free-market approach in new strategic plan
Continuing to pull back the reins on the aggressive approach taken under former Director Richard Cordray, the agency's new five-year plan values consumer choice over heavy-handed enforcement.
Policymaking
IRS scrambles to clear ‘clogged drain’ slowing mortgage applications
Top officials at the Internal Revenue Service met with mortgage industry groups this week to discuss possible fixes to the agency’s verification system, which lenders rely on to process mortgage loans.
House Dems Cleaver, Jayapal urge student loan servicers to improve
The two Democratic lawmakers sent a letter Monday to the four largest servicing companies asking them to address borrower complaints.
GAO effectively scraps CFPB auto lending guidance
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2013 guidance putting indirect auto lenders on the hook for unintentional discrimination by their partner dealers should have been subject to congressional review, the Government Accountability Office said Tuesday.
Opinion Madden ruling was a step backward. Congress should fix it
The court decision regarding the “valid when made” doctrine moved us further away from creating a more effective and inclusive financial system.
Raj Date
Fenway Summer
There’s a gift for student lenders in the education bill
Introducing limits on federally guaranteed loans to graduate students, instead of letting them borrow whatever schools charge, would create a multibillion-dollar opportunity for private lenders.
Lawmakers pressed to save flood insurance program
Numerous business sectors are urging lawmakers to act quickly to extend the National Flood Insurance Program before a crucial deadline next week.
Cordray to leave CFPB by end of month
The announcement by the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ends months of speculation about how long he planned to stay at the agency.
Housing groups pan GOP swipe at mortgage deduction
Hopes that tax reform might soften a weakening of the mortgage interest deduction were quickly dashed as the GOP plan landed a double punch on the incentive cherished by the mortgage and housing industries.
GAO ruling puts leveraged lending guidance in GOP crosshairs
Federal regulators’ 2013 guidance on leveraged lending should have been treated as a rule under the Congressional Review Act – and is now eligible for Congress to repeal, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday.
Declining capital at Fannie, Freddie ‘irresponsible’: FHFA’s Watt
Though FHFA Director Mel Watt stopped short of saying he would break with a Treasury agreement that forces all profits of the GSEs to go to the government, he emphasized that it couldn’t continue indefinitely.
House passes flood insurance bill, Senate says no thanks
The House passed a bill Thursday making it easier to obtain private flood insurance policies, but moments later the Senate took a pass on the legislation.
New Wells scandal harms effort to nix CFPB arbitration rule
Republican efforts to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration rule were dealt a significant blow Friday by another Wells Fargo scandal.
Flood insurance reform deal adds momentum to House bill
House Financial Services Committee leaders and two top real estate trade groups have cut a deal on a bill to reform the National Flood Insurance Program.
House appropriators target PACE loans in HUD budget plan
The House Appropriations Committee approved a HUD funding bill Monday that would prohibit the FHA from insuring properties with a Property Assessed Clean Energy loan in a first-lien position.
HUD secretary promotes reverse mortgage reforms
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is implementing reforms to its reverse mortgage program and providing more counseling resources for seniors who are considering the product, Secretary Ben Carson said Monday.
New affordable housing goals go easy on Fannie and Freddie
The Federal Housing Finance Agency made just incremental changes to two of the seven affordable housing benchmarks.
Credit unions cleared to securitize loans, amplifying threat to banks
The NCUA is letting federal credit unions securitize and sell assets. Such transactions would free up capital at credit unions, allowing them to make more loans.
Housing groups take aim at flood insurance bills
The National Association of Home Builders is objecting to a measure that would impose a surcharge on National Flood Insurance Program policies for newly constructed homes.
FHFA sounds alarm on Home Loan Bank funding, advances
FHFA Sounds Alarm on Home Loan Bank Funding, Advances
