Federal regulators are almost finished writing a new risk-retention rule including a definition for “qualified residential mortgages,” according to Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo. The agencies appear to be considering looser standards for QRMs than those initially proposed in 2011, perhaps using the same “qualified mortgage” definition as in the recently finalized ability-to-repay rule. Tarullo said federal regulators had completed most of the risk-retention rulewriting and were waiting for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to finalize QM and ability-to-repay requirements, which the CFPB completed in January. “It really was having...