Receiving Wide Coverage ...
White to leave: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Jo White said she plans to step down in January at the end of the Obama administration, "opening the door to a new Republican-appointed leader who could move to loosen rules on Wall Street and curb the aggressive enforcement approach Ms. White prosecuted," in the words of the Wall Street Journal. White is the first major Obama appointee to announce a departure after Donald Trump's victory last week, but White intended to leave regardless of who won the election. Other financial regulators are expected to follow her out the door. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post
Wall Street Journal
GAO stress-test review: The Government Accountability Office is scheduled to release the results of its long-awaited review of the Federal Reserve's bank "stress tests" Tuesday at 11 a.m. The report is expected to run around 100 pages and include at least 15 recommendations, "including one about opportunities to enhance transparency and disclosures," according to a source interviewed by the Journal. The GAO review was requested two years ago by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, in order to "better understand the costs, benefits and effectiveness" of the tests.
Why won't banks lend? President-elect Donald Trump said banks "are unable to lend" because of Dodd-Frank regulations. But is it true? The paper finds overall bank lending is up, but not in all categories. Business lending is strong, but commercial real estate loans and loans to small businesses and consumers, including mortgages, are down. While the act has had some effect on lending in these areas, so have other factors, including tighter capital requirements and increased legal risks.
Financial Times
New CEO: Six months after cutting more than a quarter of its staff, Prosper Marketplace has replaced its chief executive officer. On Monday the San Francisco-based marketplace lender said David Kimball, who joined the company last March as CFO, will replace Aaron Vermut as CEO. Vermut will remain on the board of directors. "The reshuffle comes after Prosper's main business was hit by turmoil in credit markets and a governance scandal at rival Lending Club," the paper says. That prompted big institutional investors to stop buying loans at the same time loan defaults were starting to increase.
New York Times
In limbo: Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton said much during the campaign about U.S. housing policy. And now that Trump has emerged victorious, there is no clearer picture about what will happen with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which remain under federal government conservatorship. "There is a growing sense among housing policy experts that it may take another crisis — a recession or more big losses at the mortgage giants — to get the new president and Congress to come up with a more permanent way to handle the responsibilities now shouldered by Fannie and Freddie," the Times reports.
Capital of fintech: "Several cities around the world are competing to become the capital, or at least one of the regional capitals," of the financial technology industry, the Times reports. "If the young financial technology industry has the transformative effect that some have imagined, the contest could also determine the future capitals of finance as a whole." The traditional centers of finance, such as London, New York and San Francisco, "are attracting substantial investment, but so are less-established capitals like Berlin, Singapore and Sydney, Australia."
Quotable ...
"I am very pessimistic on G.S.E. reform. I don't see the impetus for change" — Laurie Goodman, co-director of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, referring to the possibility of reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
