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.