Policy & Regulation

On Capitol Hill and at the White House, Democrats tried Thursday to pressure Senate Republicans who have vowed to block the nomination of Richard Cordray to CFPB by citing the agency's inability to pursue nonbank lenders who prey on service members.

The bank wanted to be up front with consumers about its short-lived debit card fee, senior executive Laurie Readhead said. She acknowledged a lack of initial planning, saying B of A has "a lot to learn."

Although the issue typically divides the two political parties, a new bill from Rep. Scott Garrett to establish a secondary mortgage market after the elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appeared to have bipartisan support at a hearing on Thursday.

Executives at a payments industry conference took some jabs at the regulations slashing their long-cherished debit card interchange fees.

The latest data confirm what housing practitioners already knew: there are simply not enough home sales today to spark a housing recovery. Whether it is a recent Mortgage Bankers Association survey on purchase applications being at a 15 year low, the Federal Housing Administration's fiscal year 2011 purchase data indicating a 30% decline or Fannie and Freddie's consistently weak purchase volume, all show a market in serious trouble.

The new HARP may help. But its sister program HAMP should also be revised so more borrowers can qualify, mortgage executives and community advocates say.

Fannie and Freddie would have to file suspicious activity reports directly to Fincen under a new plan unveiled Thursday.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson announced Thursday that he plans to hold a hearing on bonuses paid to executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac posted a $4.4 billion loss during the third quarter, up from a year-ago loss of $2.5 billion, marking its worst quarterly loss in more than one year.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to assuage fears by the biggest banks in the United States that they may have to follow European counterparts in raising capital standards to 9% by mid-2012.