Category: Top National News

National Mortgage Professional, Mar. 31, 2017–Phil HallSen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced that he is seeking new bank reform legislation that can be forged with bipartisan support, rather than jettison the Dodd-Frank Act.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 31, 2017–Kate Berry (subscription)The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau racked up an impressive track record related to enforcement actions between its formation in 2011 and 2015, winning 122 cases without losing a single one. But that unblemished record has come to an abrupt end. More companies and individuals are challenging the CFPB’s authority, inspired in part by a successful suit by the nonbank mortgage lender PHH Corp. as well as a feeling that the agency has overplayed its hand.

HousingWire, Mar. 31, 2017–Brena SwansonCongressional Democrats filed an amicus brief on Friday with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 31, 2017–Kate Berry (subscription)Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, defended the agency from industry allegations that the CFPB engages in “regulation by enforcement” in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

HousingWire, Mar. 31, 2017–Ben LaneMorgan Stanley handed out nearly $200 million in consumer relief over the past few months, pushing the company past the 75% mark in its $400 million consumer relief obligation that is part of the $3.2 billion mortgage bond settlement it reached last year.

Reuters, Mar. 31, 2017–Jonathan SpicerThe Federal Reserve could begin shrinking its $4.5-trillion balance sheet as soon as this year, earlier than most economists expect, New York Fed President William Dudley said on Friday in the central bank’s most definitive comments on the question that looms over financial markets.

Scotsman Guide, Mar. 30, 2017–Victor Whitman”The future of Fannie and Freddie should be determined by Congress,” said MBA President and CEO David Stevens. “That is the only way to reach a solution that does what’s best for Americans’ housing needs and taxpayers.”

National Mortgage News, Mar. 30, 2017–Ian McKendry (subscription)With slim odds of getting eight Democrats to support major Dodd-Frank Act reforms, Republicans will have to use other measures to make changes to the 2010 reform law, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said Thursday.

National Mortgage News, Mar. 30, 2017–Brian Collins (subscription)Private market mortgage insurance companies should better align their buyback and rescission policies with those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said this week.

HousingWire, Mar. 30, 2017–Ben LaneIn a bulletin sent to servicers this week, Fannie Mae said that it “no longer accepts plywood boards as an acceptable boarding solution on windows of its properties.”