FHFA Tackles Tough Seller-Servicer Criteria
After two tries in 2015 and 2020 to set non-depository seller-servicer eligibility requirements, FHFA today tried again. These standards are not rules and do not govern servicers other than those doing business with Fannie and Freddie, but they nonetheless spell life or death to servicers without a portfolio or FHA- or PLS-only business model.
The Processing Problem
A new Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta study adds another element to those prior research argues are evidence of widespread racial discrimination in U.S. mortgage finance. It adds processing speed to the list of discriminatory practices that now is said to include denial disparities, pricing, and refi rates. The paper’s findings cast particular aspersions on loans originated for the GSEs, but it does so at a time when PLS distorted the market in terms of both underwriting and processing speed. Its conclusions that GSE practices exacerbated discrimination and that processing times added to the problem are not, in our view, clearly validated by the data, which suggest to us that processing speed is an artifact of other market factors (e.g., discriminatory steering by some lenders, GSE AU and put-back power).
GOP Signals Congressional CBDC Strategy
Although the bill will not pass in this Congress, we draw client attention to H.R. 6415, legislation just now noted in the Congressional Record to bar the FRB from offering the “FedAccounts” Democrats espouse (see FSM Report CBDC).
OCC Grants Non-Traditional Charter Conditions on BHC Status
After close of business yesterday, the OCC gave conditional approval to SoFi’s acquisition of an insured depository and thus to its charter now as a full-service national bank. The approval signals not only that the OCC will approve acquisitions and continue to charter national banks even in non-traditional cases, but also that the moratorium on crypto charters remains in full force.
Senate Banking Split on Several Key Nominations
The Senate Banking Committee today voted on several key Biden Administration nominees without taking up any of the pending Fed appointments. The narrowness of several votes makes it clear that, as we anticipated (see Client Report FEDERALRESERVE66), controversial appointments such as Sarah Bloom Raskin and Lael Brainard have uncertain futures.
Large Banks Lead on D&I, CFPB Study Finds
The CFPB today released a report analyzing publicly-available FY2020 diversity and inclusion data for depository and nondepository institutions, putting forward a series of best practice recommendations.
On Tuesday, HUD and the CFPB opened the door to special-purpose mortgage finance. Now, we expect FHFA to use this safe harbor to mandate express GSE equitable-finance programs and for banks to take much of what’s left in all their commitments after George Floyd’s murder and turn it into mortgage and other community-finance products.
The full report is available to subscription clients. To find out how you can sign up for the service, click here.…
On Tuesday, HUD and the CFPB opened the door to special-purpose mortgage finance. Now, we expect FHFA to use this safe harbor to mandate express GSE equitable-finance programs and for banks to take much of what’s left in all their commitments after George Floyd’s murder and turn it into mortgage and other community-finance products.
The full report is available to subscription clients. To find out how you can sign up for the service, click here.…
Super-Special
On Tuesday, HUD and the CFPB opened the door to special-purpose mortgage finance. Now, we expect FHFA to use this safe harbor to mandate express GSE equitable-finance programs and for banks to take much of what’s left in all their commitments after George Floyd’s murder and turn it into mortgage and other community-finance products.
Two recent studies add fuel to the fire we first spotted late last year: demands for ARMs that only go down. Director Thompson’s latest scorecard combines with her equitable-finance mission to make this option a top political priority even if its market feasibility remains at best uncertain.
The full report is available to subscription clients. To find out how you can sign up for the service, click here.…
Going Down?
Two recent studies add fuel to the fire we first spotted late last year: demands for ARMs that only go down. Director Thompson’s latest scorecard combines with her equitable-finance mission to make this option a top political priority even if its market feasibility remains at best uncertain.
Although the majority of FHA ARMs are now LIBOR-linked, HUD has been waiting for Congress, the Fed, or forces on high to help it set a new benchmark. Although deliverance may come, HUD has now taken the belated step of tentatively starting its own replacement-benchmark exercise. What it does how for whom will of course drive not just all FHA loans, but also the market as a whole.
The full report is available to subscription clients. To find out how you can sign up for the service, click here.…