Washington Examiner, July 10, 2017–Joseph LawlerThe situation facing banks today is one of the many far-reaching repercussions of the 2008 financial crisis, which the government’s investigators concluded was in part kicked off by a decline in lending standards. (MBA mention)
Category: Top National News
Fight over CFPB Arbitration Rule May Just Be Starting
American Banker, July 10, 2017–Kate Berry, Ian McKendry (subscription)With the ink barely dry on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final arbitration rule Monday, defenders and critics of the rule were already girding for a congressional fight over its ultimate fate.
The Big Downgrade That Fueled the Subprime Crash
Bloomberg, July 10, 2017–Adam Tempkin, Claire BostonToday in the housing market, stringent regulations have kept loans to borrowers with weak credit in check. Subprime originations are a shadow of their pre-crisis levels, data from Equifax show. And the American Dream of homeownership? That’s been hovering at a more than 50-year low.
The Tricky Calculus of Housing Finance Reform
National Mortgage News, June 27, 2017–Ian McKendry (subscription)The Senate is set to begin teeing up housing finance reform discussions at a Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, but many are skeptical that Congress will be able to succeed where it has failed in the past.
CFPB Issues Implementation Date Guidance to Mortgage Servicing Rule
HousingWire, June 27, 2017–Brena SwansonThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released updated guidance along with two technical corrections to the final mortgage servicing rule that is set to go into effect Oct. 19.
CFPB Fines Four California Credit Repair companies for Misleading Customers
HousingWire, June 27, 2017–Ben LanePrime Credit, IMC Capital, Commercial Credit Consultants and Park View Law, formerly known as Prime Law Experts, and several executives in charge of the various companies will pay more than $2 million for the alleged illegal actions.
High-Profile Deals Disguising Commercial Real Estate Market’s Anxiety
New York Post, June 27, 2017–Steve CuozzoManhattan’s office market could be headed for trouble despite today’s solid-seeming condition and euphoria over big chunks of space being gobbled up by marquee tenants at glamorous new towers.
Small Lenders and Affordable Housing Groups Issue GSE Reform Proposal
HousingWire, June 28, 2017–Brena SwansonSmall lender and affordable housing association groups worked together to create a joint release of GSE reform principles in order to ensure the safety of their respective members; the Mortgage Bankers Association earlier this year issued its own GSE reform white paper.
Senate Committee Takes First Steps in Making GSE Reform a Key Priority
HousingWire, June 29, 2017–Brena Swanson”Conservatorship of the GSEs has already persisted far longer than was ever intended. And while the Federal Housing Finance Agency has taken important administrative steps during this period, an extended conservatorship is economically and politically unsustainable,” MBA President and CEO David Stevens told the Senate Banking Committee.
GSE Reform Done Right Ensures a Level Playing Field for All
National Mortgage News, June 29, 2017–Hank Cunningham (subscription)The author, who served on the MBA Task Force on a Future Secondary Market, takes issue with investor views on GSE reform and urges the mortgage industry to unify behind common goals.