Housing Prices Session Ignites Familiar Partisan Debates
Today’s Senate Banking Committee Hearing on Housing Price Increases was another session of partisan discussion of the housing market and how to address it. Chairman Brown (D-OH) focused on the economic stressors that result from housing insecurity, emphasizing the consequences on families of color.
Senate Banking Republicans Demand FHFA Reverse Racial Equity Plans
Following yesterday’s hearing (see Client Report GSE147), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and eleven other Senate Banking Republicans sent a letter to Director Thompson strongly objecting to what they call “affirmative-action” subsidies, calling them unconstitutional and beyond the FHFA’s mandate and the Enterprises’ charters.
BIS CPMI Identifies Benefits, Barriers to Multilateral Payment System Platforms
The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures published an article today arguing that multilateral platforms can alleviate some payment system frictions, but several challenges remain. The article claims that multilateral platforms can shorten processing chains, facilitate standardization, and process multiple currencies, resulting in faster payments.
CFPB Sure Now to Tackle Zelle Scams
Following media coverage yesterday suggesting near-term CFPB action, the majority of Senate Banking Democrats have called on the Bureau to do exactly what it appears to contemplate: take action to make banks offering Zelle responsible not only for fraud, but also scams to which consumers give initial consent.