Regulatory reform

The agency’s director previewed a policy for companies under enforcement action to have their orders terminated if they comply ahead of schedule.

The 2020 elections and a potential new chair of the Senate Banking Committee in the next Congress could put a deadline on passage of a bill to ease a key anti-money-laundering requirement for banks.

A proposal to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act could be just a snippet of what regulators try to accomplish as they wrap up 2019.

Lenders contend the proposal goes beyond policing third-party debt collectors and could expose banks to enforcement actions and lawsuits.

A 10% cut next year, which will be identical to the fee reduction this year, is projected to save the industry about $85 million.

The House Financial Services chair is sponsoring a bill with one of the Democratic presidential contenders aimed at alleviating the public housing capital backlog.

In an update of its rulemaking agenda, the bureau said it "expects to take final action in April 2020" on a proposal that would rescind strong underwriting requirements.

The agency will review the TRID regulation, which combined disclosure requirements of two separate laws, as part of a mandate to evaluate major policies five years after their effective date.

There's been chatter that investors are shying away from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities because Congress may not enact housing finance reform. Be skeptical of those claims.

The financial policy views of progressive candidates atop the presidential field are sure to worry many in the financial services industry, but it would be difficult for any new president to implement sweeping regulatory changes.

The 2015 decision posed new legal challenges for institutions trying to sell loans to third parties, but the federal regulatory agency proposed steps Monday for banks and debt parties to evade state interest rate caps.

The financial policy views of progressive candidates atop the presidential field are sure to worry bankers, but it would be difficult for any new president to implement sweeping regulatory changes.

After others have hinted the three bank regulators may part ways on a Community Reinvestment Act proposal, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers a “common answer” is the ideal outcome.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s exemption from the Qualified Mortgage rule is on borrowed time, but a House bill would allow lenders to use the mortgage giants’ guidelines for documenting borrower income.

Many in the industry have cheered regulators’ interest in improving the supervisory rating system, but they may shy from commenting publicly about their experiences in a confidential process.

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.

A remark by Director Kathy Kraninger during a congressional hearing has renewed a fierce debate over how the agency uses academic studies to support rulemakings.

A lower court “erred” when it sided with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s investors, the Justice Department said in its petition to the high court.

The restriction on how often a borrower’s account is debited was supposed to be relatively straightforward, but one lender is trying to fight that provision.

Beneficial-ownership legislation is within the banking industry’s reach, but the prospect of new regulatory burdens for small businesses is forcing lawmakers to choose sides.