Democratic state attorneys general recently vowed to fill the void of the CFPB in fair lending enforcement if the bureau decides not to use disparate-impact analysis under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. “The attorneys general will not hesitate to uphold the law if CFPB acts in manner contrary to law with respect to interpreting ECOA or to fulfilling its Congressional charge to ensure nondiscriminatory lending to the residents of our states,” wrote 14 AGs in ...

The latest CFPB supervisory highlights report found violations in the loss mitigation process and some foreclosure practices which officials determined are unfair or deceptive acts or practices. The report released earlier this month is the first one since Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney took the reins of the agency. The most recent supervisory highlights report was the summer 2017 edition issued a year ago. Attorneys said the report indicates that the supervisory ...

The CFPB should drop the current debt-to-income ratio cap and the so-called GSE patch from the qualified-mortgage definition, the Urban Institute recommends. The CFPB is required by statute to review the ability-to-repay rule, which includes the QM definition, and issue a final report on its findings by Jan. 10, 2019. One of the most important elements of the review could be the fate of the “GSE patch,” which is set to expire in January 2021, or on the day ...

Wells Fargo accounted for 15.0 percent of all jumbo mortgages originated during the first half of 2018…

The refi surge may be attributable to more cash-out transactions.

Then again, maybe needing a CEO is overblown. James Fenkner, a GSE shareholder, told Inside Mortgage Finance: “It is not that the CEOs are paid too little…”

If all goes well, the net proceeds will total $20.25 million.

It may be hard to fathom, but Fannie and Freddie once played with very sharp elbows…

James Lockhart, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director who headed the regulator when the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac occurred in September 2008, told Inside The GSEs he never dreamed the conservatorships would last a decade. “We thought it might go a couple of years and Congress would act,” he said. Lockhart added philosophically: “Perhaps, the conservatorships worked too well.” Lockhart, who eventually became a vice chairman of WL Ross & Co., and played a key role in that firm’s mortgage-related investments, said he’s happy that the two are now steadily profitable. But he...

The bulk of the House Financial Services Committee hearing last week focused on the lack of reform and how the GSEs’ growing role in the housing market makes them more of a liability to taxpayers today than they were before the housing crisis. The hearing was held on September 6, the 10-year anniversary of the conservatorship that has lasted longer than anyone expected. Retiring chairman of the committee Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, called the date the “not so happy anniversary” and said while reform is critical, it’s proven illusive.Hensarling introduced a bipartisan bill during the hearing, the Bipartisan Housing Finance Reform Act of 2018, but implied it likely won’t go anywhere in this Congress.