Policy & Regulation

The Treasury Department's Michael Stegman further bolstered the Obama administration's support of Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Tuesday, describing how the agency's policies must intersect with mortgage finance reform efforts in Congress.

At the annual Mortgage Bankers Association conference in Washington, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said lenders' concerns about meeting the new mortgage rules are warranted, but they should not worry over legal protections in complying with the regulations.

President Obama plans to nominate Jerome Powell, a former partner at Carlyle Group, to serve another term on the Federal Reserve Board, according to a government official briefed on the matter.

Bank of America may have to pay $5 billion to $8 billion to settle federal claims tied to faulty mortgages after a rival lender's deal set "a relatively high bar," Fitch Ratings said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren weighed in publicly for the first time on the substance of the housing finance reform debate on Tuesday, endorsing a limited but explicit government guarantee, strong underwriting rules and servicer oversight, and secondary market access for smaller institutions.

A draft plan by U.S. regulators to significantly increase a leverage requirement for top U.S. financial institutions is at odds with a separate proposal to force banks to hold highly liquid assets to buffer against market crises, according to senior bank executives.

Lax oversight by the Treasury Department has helped to prevent billions of dollars in aid from reaching struggling homeowners, according to a report released Tuesday by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

PayPal, having long ago charted the state-by-state regulatory waters for U.S. payments companies, is urging a reform to the rules in an effort that could ultimately help other players in its market.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has started the process to end debate on Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., President Obama's nominee to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Sendhil Mullainathan says he had no involvement in the consumer bureau's decision to award a consulting contract to a firm he co-founded.