Policy & Regulation

The Federal Housing Administration is revamping its loan review processes to correct faulty underwriting in an effort to lure institutions back to the program.

Former Massachusetts Senator Barney Frank unsurprisingly defended the financial reform law, yet also indicated he disagreed with regulators on implementation of some elements and a push by Sen. Elizabeth Warren to restore Depression-era rules separating banking from other industries.

CEO Joe Ficalora says the thrift has ways it can buy time to announce a transformative acquisition or benefit from a change in the definition of what it requires to be a systemically important institution. With OneWest off the table, industry observers wonder if the thrift can find the deal it’s been looking for.

The riskiest money-market mutual funds will be required to abandon their stable, $1-share value and allow their prices to float under rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Two federal agencies and 15 states have taken more than 40 actions against foreclosure relief operations, alleging the firms charged distressed borrowers millions of dollars in fees without following through on service.

Lower rates of return would require insurers to charge higher premiums or stop covering loans to borrowers with lower credit scores. (You know, the ones the government wants to help?)

The Department of Veterans Affairs' residual income test would give lenders more confidence to make riskier loans, according to an Urban Institute study.

Federal Reserve stress tests evaluate banks' ability to withstand severely adverse scenarios like the Great Recession. But the next downturn may pose different problems, according to Tony Hughes of Moody's Analytics.

A federal judge has directed regulators to stop blocking a hedge fund from conducting discovery into the government's decision to sweep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's profits in the coffers of the U.S. Treasury.

A highly anticipated government report due to be released July 31 is expected to say big banks received less of a subsidy from the perception that they are "too big to fail." But it remains uncertain whether that would continue to be true in a future crisis or if market conditions change.