Affordable housing

The two banks’ CEOs used a public hearing to argue their merger will be a boon for underserved markets. But other speakers warned that bank consolidation hurts communities.

The Trump administration is cracking down on national affordable housing programs because of concern over growing risk to the government's almost $1.3 trillion portfolio of federally insured mortgages.

Adolfo Marzol, who has served as an adviser to HUD Secretary Ben Carson, will now report to the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

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The two banks will each give $15 million to the Foundation for the Carolinas, which supports affordable housing development in Mecklenburg County.

The administration official will serve a five-year term as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's chief regulator.

After a brief delay, the agency’s acting director signed off on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributing to the National Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund.

A discussion on how to modernize policies to combat housing discrimination quickly turned into a sharp critique of the social media giant's advertising practices.

Bank of America pledged to commit $5 billion over the next five years to its program aimed at homebuyers with low to moderate incomes and multicultural households.

American Banker won 11 journalism awards during the past week, including its first Grand Neal, the highest of the honors announced at this year's Jesse H. Neal business journalism awards.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency in recent years has required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to contribute to the funds every March, but has yet to make a 2019 request. Housing groups see the delay as a troubling sign.

David Brickman will take the helm of the mortgage giant at a time of transformation in the mortgage market and housing finance policy.

Mark Calabria has notably criticized the government’s role in housing, but some groups have taken him at his word when he told senators that he supported affordable housing initiatives.

There’s bipartisan consensus that the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are unsustainable, but that may not be enough for lawmakers to upend the current system.

Revised legislation would exclude credit unions from Community Reinvestment Act requirements, but could make the National Credit Union Administration the de facto enforcer of how CUs meet the needs of underserved markets.

The 2020 presidential hopeful removed the contentious provision from a previous version of the bill that had won praise from bankers but sparked fierce opposition from credit unions.

The secretary of housing and urban development plans to "finish out this term" but wants to return to "the private sector because I think you have just as much influence, maybe more."

If confirmed to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Mark Calabria would have a central role in any efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The agency's pilot program, designed to streamline mortgage insurance applications associated with the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, will now include applications for new construction and substantial rehabilitation.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.