Hannah Lang

The agencies are weighing a plan to reduce the scope of residential real estate transactions requiring an appraisal, but appraisers have warned that the proposal could have consequences.

After 10 years of conservatorship, the new year could finally usher in big steps toward housing finance reform.

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing to examine the outgoing committee chairman's bipartisan GSE reform bill, but lawmakers were already looking ahead.

The process to confirm Mark Calabria as FHFA director could be lengthy, forcing the White House to consider how it will proceed with housing finance reform under Joseph Otting as acting head of the agency.

The White House said that Comptroller of the Currency Joseph Otting will serve as acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency beginning Jan. 6, after Director Mel Watt’s term ends.

The federal banking regulators have proposed allowing more directors and management officials to serve at more than one institution in an effort to provide relief to community banks.

A former senior staffer at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was found guilty of embezzling confidential information about banks from the agency before she left her post, and could face up to 20 years in prison.

A proposal allowing more lenders to skip outside appraisals could remove a hurdle to quick closings, but appraisers say they could be collateral damage.

The current deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pam Patenaude, will step down in January.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.