Regulatory reform

With officials putting finishing touches on presidentially directed reports on the future of the housing finance system, the Senate Banking Committee announced a hearing to examine the issue.

Readers react to jilted GSE legacy shareholders and a proposal making it harder to cite disparate impact, criticize Democrats asking the CFPB to stop its payday rule revamp and more.

The mortgage industry will be looking for answers when Treasury and HUD unveil reports on housing finance reform, but the Trump administration’s plans could also raise a whole new host of questions.

The Treasury’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac left legacy shareholders holding the bag.

Though advocates and industry are rarely aligned, they are starting to coalesce around a plan that would call for the elimination of the CFPB’s 43% debt-to-income limit as part of its qualified mortgage rule.

When lawmakers return from their August recess, a host of unresolved financial policy issues — from marijuana banking to anti-money-laundering rule — will greet them.

The agencies handed banks a significant victory when they finalized revisions to the Dodd-Frank proprietary trading ban, but officials also plan to re-propose changes to the “covered funds” section of the rule.

After two regulatory agencies adopted final revisions to the rule, Dodd-Frank defenders expressed concern that the amendments to the proprietary trading ban undermined the post-crisis statute.

The agency is trying to update its rate-cap policy for institutions that fall below "well-capitalized." But it remains to be seen if the proposed changes fully address community bankers' concerns.

The agencies had proposed an "accounting prong" as an alternative means to determine which proprietary trades are banned, but their final rule heeded industry concerns that that would be worse than the current approach.