Hannah Lang is a Washington-based reporter who writes about federal mortgage policy and the U.S. housing finance system for American Banker and National Mortgage News. She is a former multimedia reporter for the Capital News Service and a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park.
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Top officials at the U.S. central bank and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed their commitment to understand how extreme weather events affect financial institutions and the economy as a whole. Many Republicans, however, worry the Federal Reserve’s new climate focus strays too far from its traditional function.
March 23 -
The decision is seen as a setback for the banking industry, which had been pushing for an extension, and a win for Democrats, who have argued that a pandemic is no time for banks to be shedding capital.
March 19 -
The legislation easily passed the House in 2019 but was never considered in the Senate. Observers see a more promising path forward this time.
March 18 -
The Federal Reserve will determine within days whether to extend the easing of the supplementary leverage ratio for big banks past March 31, Chairman Jerome Powell says. And it's a couple of weeks away from announcing whether there will be limits on second-quarter dividends and buybacks, he says.
March 17 -
In its final days, the Trump administration imposed limits on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s holdings of mortgages with loan-to-value ratios above 90% and certain other characteristics. Critics say the changes were unnecessary and disproportionately penalize borrowers of color.
March 11 -
Nonbanks had worried the end of the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility would hurt their ability to lend to small businesses. On Monday, the Federal Reserve announced the facility would be extended for three months.
March 8 -
The industry wants regulators to extend a temporary measure making it easier to satisfy the supplementary leverage ratio. But Democrats’ control of the White House and Congress has given a bigger platform to those who say banks have had enough relief.
March 4 -
As government debt swells, the outer limits of what the U.S. can safely borrow are becoming less and less clear.
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Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown urged regulators not to give in to industry requests to extend a temporary policy easing compliance with the supplementary leverage ratio.
March 2 -
The mortgage giants were authorized to give just over $1 billion combined to the National Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund this year, the highest contribution ever. The amount reflects refinancing growth in 2020.
March 1
