Hannah Lang

The White House and the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced steps to help nonprofits and public agencies buy foreclosed properties, among other initiatives, as part of a plan to boost supply over the next three years.

Adrienne Harris, who did stints at the Treasury Department and National Economic Council during the Obama administration, would succeed Linda Lacewell as superintendent of the state's Department of Financial Services.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Trump administration had been preoccupied with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital position. Acting Director Sandra Thompson has shifted the agency’s focus to affordable housing and fair lending.

Regulators and the Biden administration are considering how to respond to the sharp growth in digital assets pegged to fiat currency. Their options include establishing rules like those for bank deposits and having the Federal Reserve issue a digital dollar that competes with private-sector stablecoins.

The Federal Reserve has been circumspect about whether it will issue its own digital currency. Observers are looking to an upcoming report by the central bank for clarity about its intentions and how a digital dollar would work with private stablecoins.

The Biden administration will soon face tough decisions on whether to renominate Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chair and whom to select for vice chair of supervision and other posts.

This year's assessment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is the first to take into account a January agreement between the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department that allowed the companies to retain more earnings.

The guarantor of mortgage-backed securities has been without a Senate-confirmed president for four and a half years. The vacancy makes it difficult for other government agencies to coordinate housing objectives, according to stakeholders.

This year’s stress tests examined 23 banks including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, with the remainder of the firms on an “every other year” test cycle. The capital requirements for those remaining firms are unchanged from last year.

Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee objected to Biden administration picks for key jobs at the Department of Housing and Urban Development based on their past criticism of police practices. The nominees, including the prospective Federal Housing Administration chief, said their statements were taken out of context.