GSE reform

USAA won $200M from Wells Fargo in patent fight — will others be on the hook?; three takeaways from regulators' approval of the BB&T-SunTrust merger; don't believe the doom and gloom on Fannie, Freddie; and more from this week's most-read stories.

The $26 billion all-stock deal has the OK of the boards from both companies; the administration says it will move on privatization without federal backing.

The charter may provide greater confidence for digital currency investors; bank expects to make large-scale job cuts in its global banking and markets unit.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is scrapping a capital proposal it released last year and will seek comments on a new plan in 2020.

Earnings hit could be avoided if BB&T and SunTrust complete deal by 2020; Fannie and Freddie will likely exit conservatorship by 2024, Calabria says; tired of paying 'ransom' to core vendors, two small banks fund new one; and more from this week's most-read stories.

Bankers had worried about Rep. Maxine Waters' control of the Financial Services Committee, but many now say the Democrat’s working relationship with the panel’s top Republican is refreshing.

And the government-sponsored enterprises could hold initial public offerings in 2021 or 2022 to ensure they hold adequate capital, FHFA Director Mark Calabria said.

Recent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac activities are “not the kind of day-to-day behavior that you would expect from companies” under federal control, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

President Xi wants faster research on blockchain, the technology behind digital currencies; low rates bring best home loan quarter in 14 years.

The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac discussed steps the companies have already taken to limit their risk, as well as efforts to prevent housing market “overlap” with the FHA.

With Congress deadlocked on a future for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the administration is prepping to move by itself.

At a House hearing covering a whole host of housing finance reform topics, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator said "if the circumstances" call for eliminating investors, "we will."

As the administration gears up to end a decade of government control of Fannie and Freddie, are there any good options?

Readers react to whether the next presidential debate will discuss banking, how California's financial policies are bleeding into other blue states, suggested reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act and more.

Allowing the mortgage giants to retain profits resolves a short-term capital shortfall, but how much capital they would need after exiting conservatorship is still the bigger question.

The ‘Unsinkable Cathy Bessant’; Thasunda Duckett’s rising star takes center stage; the challenges facing Wells Fargo chief Charles Scharf; Fannie, Freddie to retain $45B in capital; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

The GSEs will hold onto a combined $45 billion as they start the process of going private; PayPal becomes the first foreign firm to win approval to enter the country’s payments market.

The move to alter the government's preferred stock purchase agreements is the first major one under FHFA Director Mark Calabria's tenure to wind down the conservatorship of the government-sponsored enterprises.

Cathy Bessant, BofA’s chief operations officer, is the Most Powerful Woman in Banking; 6 standout fintechs at Finovate 2019; the Citi CEO says gender pay gap is ‘a challenge we need to tackle together’; and more from this week’s most-read stories.

While no one is suggesting that the plan will help banks regain the share they've ceded to nonbanks, bankers believe that stabilizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could at least help them keep what they have.