Opinions

Richard Cordray took a big gamble in his final act as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, attempting to appoint his own interim successor. He lost Tuesday, but he was far from the only one.

District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ruled Tuesday that Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney was the legal interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, denying a request by Deputy Director Leandra English to block the appointment.

On his last day at the agency, Keith Noreika called for scaling back the Bank Holding Company Act, arguing that it burdens banks with duplicative regulation and restricts their economic potential.

Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are privately questioning why outgoing director Richard Cordray abruptly tapped a 34-year-old chief of staff with no enforcement, supervisory or legal experience to head the embattled agency after he resigned.

In his nomination hearing, Jerome Powell was quick to assure Republican senators of his regulatory relief credentials. But Democrats still fear that he and other Trump appointees might upend the Dodd-Frank Act.

Conforming loan limits for mortgages bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase for the second consecutive year in response to the rapid rise in home prices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The Senate Banking Committee voted to advance the nomination of Brian Montgomery to serve as commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration, despite ongoing criticism from some Democrats that he is too close to the financial services industry.

The CFPB's data-sharing guidance was widely applauded, but mistrust remains between banks and aggregators. Advocates want regulators to take action.

The former OCC head and Massachusetts banking commissioner will co-lead Nutter's financial services practice.

Even though they do not face the immediate prospect of regulation requiring an open-banking policy, American banks should act as if they do.