The House Financial Services Committee passed a handful of CFPB-related bills earlier this month, after a previously scheduled markup had been delayed by the death of the mother of Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, the ranking member on the committee. H.R. 3770, the CFPB-IG Act of 2013, introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-OH, was approved 39-20. The bill would create a separate, independent inspector general for the CFPB. The CFPB currently shares an inspector general with the Federal Reserve System. H.R. 4262, the Bureau Advisory Commission Transparency Act, introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-WI, was approved by voice vote. H.R. 4262 would open up CFPB advisory board meetings to the public. H.R. 4383, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Small Business ...

A group of institutional investors – including BlackRock and Pacific Investment Management Co. – filed suit this week against six banks for their alleged failure as mortgage-bond trustees for over $2 trillion worth of mortgage securities. The suits against the banks – U.S. Bancorp, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, The Bank of New York Mellon, HSBC Holdings, and Wells Fargo – were filed in New York State Supreme Court, New York County. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages for losses exceeding $250 billion on nearly 2,220 non-agency MBS trusts issued between 2004 and 2008. The suits allege...

A senior Treasury Department official pushed back against the idea of rehabilitating the two government-sponsored enterprises, noting in a speech late last week that the firms cannot be re-capitalized and reiterating the Obama administration’s commitment to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mary Miller, the Treasury’s undersecretary for domestic finance, said that even if the two GSEs were allowed to stay in business and build up capital, it could take “at least” 20 years to recapitalize Fannie and Freddie. “During these 20 years, the taxpayer would remain...

Barring any unpleasant news, Julian Castro, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, apparently has passed his job interview with the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. This week, Castro, a three-term mayor of San Antonio, TX, laid out his priorities as HUD secretary before committee members if he is confirmed for the job. Castro underscored the importance of “partnership and pragmatism” as the key drivers in running a city. As HUD secretary, Castro said he would enhance “cross-agency collaboration” and emphasize the value of “measuring results” by setting precise goals, consulting with the public on major issues, developing a public report card and annual updates – tools he employed in his municipal housing education and affordable housing initiatives in San Antonio. As mayor, Castro worked to ...

Barring the discovery of a skeleton in his closet, Julian Castro’s nomination for secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development appears to be a lock in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Appearing before the committee this week, Castro, a three-term mayor of San Antonio, TX, laid out his priorities for HUD if confirmed. He said he would emphasize working closely with agencies as well as the value of “measuring results” by setting precise goals, public consultation, development of a public report card and annual updates – tools he employed in his municipal housing education and affordable housing initiatives in San Antonio. Castro said...

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s housing goal performance exceeded the benchmark levels for all of the single-family and multifamily goals set for the two government-sponsored enterprises in 2012, but preliminary figures show that Freddie is struggling to hit the mark for 2013, according to a new Federal Housing Finance Agency report. The FHFA’s annual report to Congress, released late last week, reveals official figures on each GSE’s goal performance in 2012 and preliminary data on goal performance in 2013. Both GSEs hit...[Includes one data chart]

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray came under sustained partisan criticism from Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee this week over the joint National Mortgage Database the CFPB is working on with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. “We have learned since Director Cordray was last before the committee that the joint database project by the CFPB and the FHFA will undeniably collect personally identifiable information on millions of Americans in the National Mortgage Database,” said Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX. “I’m not speaking merely of names, addresses and phone numbers – though the database will certainly include those – but shockingly also people’s Social Security numbers, their race, religion, personal financial information, and even the GPS coordinates of their homes. If this is not considered personally identifiable information by the CFPB, then I don’t know what is.” A breach of this database could cause...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can be rehabilitated and returned to the private sector, with or without Congressional action, an expert noted this week, adding his voice to the growing chorus of those calling to retain the GSEs. Speaking at a GSE forum sponsored by Investors Unite, Joshua Rosner, managing director at Graham Fisher & Co., said that GSE reform “shouldn’t reinvent a wheel that has driven the secondary market successfully for generations.”

A noted GSE hawk successfully pushed through a legislative amendment that would block Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from paying into the National Housing Trust Fund “at a time when they still owe money to the American people.” The amendment by Rep. Ed Royce, R-CA, to H.R. 4745, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2015, would prohibit the GSEs from using funds for the NHTF, which was established under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-NY, last week reintroduced legislation that would “sharply curtail” the ability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest in future transactions that reduce the availability of affordable housing both in New York and nationwide. Maloney’s legislation, the Responsible GSE Affordable Housing Investment Act of 2014, initially introduced in 2010, would require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to deny affordable housing goals credits when a project’s debt is disproportionate to its income.