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Politics and policy

New dangers for housing in looming shutdown: How mortgage lenders can prepare

Capital markets, Mortgage Rates, Originations, Politics and policy, Servicing /

The potential government shutdown that’s looming this week due to an impasse between political parties in budget negotiations has some new risks for housing. In addition to more typical concerns, an Office of Management and Budget memo issued last week means the usual furloughs could be layoffs that compound the impact of previous public sector […]

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Bowman says Fed should use smallest possible balance sheet

Politics and policy, Secondary markets /

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said the U.S. central bank should seek to achieve the smallest balance sheet possible and overhaul its regime for implementing monetary policy. “Over the longer run, my preference is to maintain the smallest balance sheet possible with reserve balances at a level closer to scarce than ample,”

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Panel eyes GSEs’ guarantee as public offering talks progress

Capital markets, Politics and policy, Secondary markets, The Great American Mortgage Corporation /

The value of government-sponsored enterprises’ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stems from their mortgage-market role and experts at a Bipartisan Policy Center event at times took varying stances on what it would take to preserve and protect that position amid reform. The panel’s comments arrived ahead of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte’s ongoing

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CFPB drops enforcement actions against two more lenders

CFPB News & Analysis, Donald Trump, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance /

Key Insight: Washington Federal Bank and Planet Home Lending are only the latest in a long list of businesses against which the CFPB has terminated its consent orders. Supporting Data: Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, the CFPB has dropped dozens of enforcement actions and initiated only two. Expert quote: “It’s clear that

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Letitia James mortgage fraud probe is moving ahead at DOJ

Enforcement, Mortgage Fraud, Politics and policy /

The U.S. Justice Department is pushing ahead with its investigation of New York Attorney General Letitia James over mortgage fraud allegations after President Donald Trump demanded the case move forward, according to people familiar with the matter.  The case is still being pursued through the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia in

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Elizabeth Warren presses Bessent on Fannie, Freddie IPO efforts

GSEs, Politics and policy, Secondary markets /

The top Senate Democrat with oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pressed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for more details about the Trump administration’s efforts to take the mortgage giants public.  The Treasury Department and the Federal Housing Finance Agency have been holding meetings with housing advocates, think tanks and mortgage industry representatives this month

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Fannie, Freddie win for VantageScore causes pain for FICO shares

MBS, Originations, Politics and policy, Secondary markets, Underwriting /

Silvio Tavares waited years for news that finally arrived in July: government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would finally allow lenders to use something other than a FICO score to determine whether a customer is credit-worthy enough to buy a home. The wonky policy change, delivered via a social media post after years of

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Trump upends shutdown talks with Democrats as deadline nears

Politics and policy /

President Donald Trump said Democrats must drop their demands for renewing health care subsidies and ending Medicaid cuts before he’ll agree to negotiate with congressional leaders at a meeting they planned for Thursday, ratcheting up the risk of an Oct. 1 government shutdown. “After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made

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FHFA’s fair lending reversal risks housing market stability

Politics and policy, Secondary markets /

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a proposed rule to repeal its Fair Lending, Fair Housing and Equitable Housing Finance Plan requirements — regulations it finalized barely a year ago — and is inviting the public to comment on this proposal until Sept. 26. It is one of the agency’s swiftest reversals of a

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