#HUD – Federal Financial Analytics

18 04, 2024

MORTGAGE122

Shane Smith2024-04-18T15:29:06-04:00April 18th, 2024|5- Client Report|

Housing Takes on Immediate Political Impact, Will Action Follow?

Although there was no need for further evidence that campaign season has begun, today’s Senate Banking housing hearing surely confirmed it. Chair Brown (D-OH) used his opening statement and virtually all of his questioning to focus on Ohio-specific issues; GOP senators argued forcefully that Biden Administration policies reduce housing supply and hike unaffordability. Sen. Brown talked about the need for legislation in several instances, but it remains to be seen if he plans near-term action on a specific proposal. Perhaps hoping for this, Sen. Cortez-Masto (D-NV) questioned FHFA Director Thompson about Home Loan Bank mission compliance, pressing colleagues to support a bill she introduced in the last Congress to double the System’s affordable-housing obligation and alter other aspects of their operations. Sandra Thompson announced that FHFA this year will issue proposals to address the Banks’ mission and “streamline” AHP activities – she did not say how – as well as sharply constrain insurance-company members with a new, ongoing requirement for mortgage-finance activities.

MORTGAGE122.pdf…

11 01, 2024

Daily011124

Arezou Rafikian2024-01-12T11:40:23-05:00January 11th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

Paul Picks Up GAO Fed-Audit Support

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has again honored his father’s legacy, reintroducing legislation mandating a full GAO audit of the FRB that was the hallmark of Ron Paul’s tenure as a long-time Member of the House and occasional libertarian candidate for president.

OIG Gives FHFA Passing Grade on Community Support System Improvements

Saying nothing about FHFA’s plans for Home Loan Bank community support, the FHFA OIG yesterday issued a report concluding that the agency has effectively addressed issues with its oversight of FHLB community support requirements by implementing an automated system for Community-Support Statement submission.

Partisan HUD Hearing Discusses FHA-Policy Options

Today’s HFSC hearing with HUD Secretary Fudge was the partisan event we anticipated, with Chairman McHenry (R-NC) criticizing Ms. Fudge for unresponsiveness to committee requests and obstacles in the income verification process for disabled veteran housing in his district.

Daily011124.pdf…

10 01, 2024

DAILY011024

Eliza Allen2024-01-10T17:00:41-05:00January 10th, 2024|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC’s HUD Hearing to Trod Partisan Ground

HFSC’s majority staff memo on Thursday’s hearing with HUD Secretary Fudge makes it still clearer that the session will focus on affordable housing, homelessness, and public-housing agencies in cities such as New York and Washington, D.C.

HFSC GOP Slams DOL Fiduciary Rule

At today’s HFSC Capital Markets Subcommittee hearing on the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule, Subcommittee Chairwoman Wagner (R-MO) argued that the proposal should be withdrawn, calling it a partisan effort to eliminate “junk fees.”

HFSC Takes Partisan Approach to FSOC

At today’s HFSC Digital Assets Subcommittee hearing on FSOC’s systemic-designation framework (see FSM Report SYSTEMIC98), Subcommittee Chairman Hill (R-AR) questioned FSOC’s approach to addressing systemic risk, claiming that the Council’s revised guidance is vulnerable to abuse and unintended consequences.

CFPB Small-Business Reg Survives

Senate Republicans tried today to override the President’s veto of the Congressional Review Act resolution approved by both Houses of Congress to repeal the CFPB’s small-business reporting rule.

Daily011024.pdf…

15 06, 2023

DAILY061523

Eliza Allen2023-06-15T16:36:26-04:00June 15th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Bipartisan Cash-Acceptance Bill Reintroduced

The chairman of Senate Foreign Relations and Banking Committee member Menendez (D-NJ) yesterday reintroduced bipartisan legislation (S. 1984) along with Rep. Payne (D-NJ) (H.R. 4128) to require retail businesses to accept cash for in-person transactions.

CFPB Renews Mortgage-Servicing Rewrite

In a blog post today, CFPB Director Chopra highlighted an issue that failed to come up at hearings earlier this week (see Client Report CONSUMER51): mortgage servicing.

Senate Democrats Focus On P2P Consumer Protection

Reflecting recent CFPB concerns and a consumer warning, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Brown (D-OH) along with Sens. Reed (D-RI), Warren (D-MA), and Menendez (D-NJ) today sent letters to the CEOs of PayPal and Cash App requesting consumer-fraud and scam data as well as steps the companies are taking to protect consumers.

IMF Sees Regional-Bank Risk, Urges Fast Action

The IMF’s financial-stability report for the United States today details recent macroeconomic-, fiscal-, monetary-, and financial-policy developments, with the Fund’s executive directors (including that of the U.S.) emphasizing in response the need to prioritize inflation-fighting over fiscal tightening.

FHFA Housing Equity Session Provides Little Insight

We had intended to listen through today’s FHFA equitable finance listening session, but its opening indicated that it will not address the pending regulatory rewrite.

Daily061523.pdf…

31 05, 2023

DAILY053123

Eliza Allen2023-05-31T17:00:40-04:00May 31st, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

IMF: Housing Risk Not At GFC Level, Still Worrisome

While falling home prices are unlikely to trigger another financial crisis, an IMF blog post today finds that a drop could still harm the global economic outlook.

FDIC Tries Guarded Optimism

The FDIC’s first-quarter report on the condition of the U.S. banking industry was guardedly optimistic, but that in part appears to be due to the way in which the agency foresees its problems. Problem banks are up by 4 to 43 with $58 billion in assets among them.

End-Game Starts Soon

FRB Governor and Vice-Chair nominee Jefferson today expanded on the Fed’s financial-stability objectives, resolutely disavowing any of the credit-allocation ambitions Republicans sometimes ascribe to its work on climate risk.

CFPB Small-Business Disclosures Go Live

The Federal Register today includes the CFPB’s controversial final rule on small business data collection published late March which the Bureau says will increase transparency in small business lending, promote economic development, and combat unlawful discrimination.

FHA Expands Pandemic Mortgage Relief As Rates Rise

FHA today requested comment on a new loss mitigation proposal called the Payment Supplement Partial Claim allowing servicers to use FHA funds to bring a borrower’s mortgage current and temporarily reduce principal payments.

Daily0523123.pdf…

17 03, 2023

DAILY031723

Eliza Allen2023-03-17T16:53:13-04:00March 17th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

Biden Positions White House On Side Of SVB/SBNY Enforcement Actions

Reflecting growing political heat as SVB/SBNY revelations continue, President Biden today called on Congress to toughen enforcement penalties for senior management at failed banks. As noted on the fact sheet accompanying the formal request to Congress, the White House believes current law makes it unduly difficult for regulators to claw back executive compensation following a receivership and/or to bar individuals from further banking-industry employment.

HUD Reinstates Tough Disparate-Impact Standard

HUD today announced a final rule rescinding a 2020 rule governing Fair Housing Act disparate impact claims (see FSM Report FAIRLEND8) and restoring a 2013 discriminatory effects rule (see FSM Report FAIRLEND4). The fact sheet accompanying the announcement claimed that the complications added in 2020 rule would have made it “virtually impossible” for HUD and private plaintiffs to prove discrimination.

Waters Pledges Bill on Failed-Bank Execs, Pushes Incentive-Comp Regs

Shortly after the President called on Congress to toughen penalties for failed bank executives, HFSC Ranking Member Waters (D-CA) sent a letter today to Fed, FDIC, and SEC leadership announcing she is crafting legislation to do so. The letter also reiterated Democratic calls for the agencies to hold SVB and SBNY executives accountable and urged them to finalize longstanding compensation rules (see FSM Report COMPENSATION30), which Ms. Waters demanded include strong clawback provisions.

Daily031723.pdf…

8 03, 2023

DAILY030823

Eliza Allen2023-03-08T17:06:14-05:00March 8th, 2023|2- Daily Briefing|

HFSC Plans Broad Attack, Limited Legislation to Rewrite Administration Crypto Standards

The HFSC staff memo makes it clear that the Digital Asset Subcommittee hearing on Thursday will be a strong general GOP attack on Biden Administration crypto policy and specific campaign against the SEC’s enforcement-focused strategy.

HFSC Plans to Blast CFPB, Press Limited Change

Thursday’s HFSC Monetary Policy Subcommittee hearing on the CFPB is sure to be a raucous, partisan affair judging by the staff memo describing it. Republicans have strongly objected to the Bureau before its inception, with concerns sharply heightened by a series of recent actions under Director Chopra.

CFPB Slams Fees, Promises Mercy

Ahead of a meeting later today between senior White House officials, Director Chopra, and hundreds of state legislators concerning the President’s “junk fee” agenda, the CFPB today released Supervisory Highlights focusing on recent instances of what it deems unlawful junk fees in deposit accounts, auto loan servicing, mortgage servicing, payday lending, and student loan servicing.

GAO Doubts Fintech’s Inclusion Advantage

The GAO today released a report finding that fintech may enhance inclusion, but that this inclusion comes at risk due to the patchwork of rules governing firms offering products – e.g., wage advances – that may put vulnerable households at risk.

HFSC Republicans Scrutinize SEC Rulemaking, Fed Climate Policy

As anticipated, today’s HFSC Subcommittee Hearing with the inspectors-general for the FRB, CFPB, Treasury, and SEC focused on GOP attacks on the SEC’s IG vacancy and the CFPB’s funding mechanism.

Brown, Others Demand ABA …

19 10, 2022

DAILY101922

Eliza Allen2022-10-20T17:16:10-04:00October 19th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

CFPB Brings Older Adults Into Fair-Fee Focus

Following yesterday’s enforcement action and furthering its “fair-fee” policy agenda (see FSM Report CONSUMER38), the CFPB today published an Issue Brief on overdraft fees and economically-insecure older adults.

HUD Advances LIBOR Replacement As Deadline

Following its ANPR on replacing LIBOR last year, HUD today published a proposed rule to remove LIBOR as an approved index for forward ARMs and reverse mortgages, replacing it with SOFR. For existing ARMs, HUD proposes to establish a spread-adjusted SOFR index to transition from LIBOR, with a lifetime five percent interest-rate cap for monthly adjustable rate reverse mortgages.

House Republicans Question PayPal’s Content Fine Mistake

Following revelations that PayPal had temporarily imposed a penalty fee on certain content, HFSC Ranking Member McHenry (R-NC), Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Rodgers (R-WA), and Reps. Emmer (R-MN) and Griffith (R-VA) sent a letter to PayPal CEO Dan Schulman requesting more information about PayPal mistakenly updating its Acceptable Use Policy to include a fine for sharing “objectionable” messages on the platform.

Fed Study Finds Little Evidence of Discrimination in Mortgage Lending

A new Fed study on racial bias in mortgage lending finds little evidence of discrimination, concluding instead that disparities in observable applicant risk explain most racial denial disparities. The study uses confidential HMDA supervisory data from 2018-2019 that controls for credit scores, DTI, and LTV on top of automated underwriting systems (AUS) recommendations.

Daily101922.pdf…

4 10, 2022

DAILY100422

Eliza Allen2022-10-05T10:36:14-04:00October 4th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

IMF Calls for Open-End Fund Swing Pricing

The IMF today released a study of open-end funds sure to guide the action promised by SEC Chairman Gensler (see Client Report INVESTOR20).

Fed Study: Climate-Risk Insurance Cross-Subsidies Pose Moral Hazard, Financial Risk

Using homeowners’ insurance as a proxy for climate-risk insurance, a Fed staff study finds that the decoupling of rates and risk raises moral hazard and causes policy-holders in lower-risk and less restrictively regulated states to subsidize those in riskier states, where rates have been outpaced by losses.

Yellen Highlights Need for Crypto Reg at Racial Equity Roundtable

At a Treasury roundtable on racial equity and economic inequality, Treasury Secretary Yellen today reiterated the importance of the cryptoasset standards recommended yesterday by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.

Fed Sets Supervisory Standards for a Non-Traditional IDI Parent

The Federal Register today includes the Federal Reserve’s final supervisory framework for DIHCs controlled by insurance companies.

Final FHLB Listening Session Brings System Praise, Resistance to Change

We will shortly provide clients with an in-depth report on the last session FHFA held today listening to dozens of views on the future of the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

Daily100422.pdf…

29 06, 2022

DAILY062922

Eliza Allen2023-01-24T16:00:53-05:00June 29th, 2022|2- Daily Briefing|

FRB-Cleveland Study: Small-Business Finance Availability Shows Continuing Disparate Impact

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland today published the results of the Small Business Credit Survey, finding that small businesses owned by people of color were far less likely to have recovered to pre-pandemic levels than their white counterparts, due in part to continuing gaps in financial access.

GOP Renews Demand for Reserve Bank Reform

Picking up on the GOP’s serious concern about Federal Reserve Bank governance expressed when Chairman Powell came before them last week (see Client Report FEDERALRESERVE70), Senate Banking Republicans today sharply criticized the head of the Kansas City Fed for what they call her unresponsiveness and even untruthfulness related to how Reserve Trust achieved payment-system access.

CFPB Report: Credit Line Reductions Harm Vulnerable Borrowers

Continuing the CFPB’s assessment of credit-card finance, Bureau staff today issued a report about the adverse impact that credit line reductions or withdrawals have on consumers, especially those under stress.

HFSC Homeownership Session Fans Partisan Flames

Today’s HFSC hearing on homeownership and inequality was a largely partisan session where each side repeated policy and macroeconomic arguments along party lines about the best ways to govern the nation’s housing market.

IMF Calls for Improvements to Capital Market Regulation

The IMF issued a report today on capital-markets regulation calling for new market liquidity backstops, strengthened CCP risk management, and greater attention to emerging risks to strengthen the regulatory perimeter focus.

Waters Renews Demands to Break Up Big Bad Banks

Following the hearing …