As a new era of oversight begins, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, is aiming for reform of credit reporting agencies.
On Friday, just two days before the Congress recessed for the holidays, House Committee on Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, surprised industry observers by holding the long-delayed hearing on his pet project, “The Bipartisan Housing Finance Reform Act of 2018.”
Legislation is needed to establish a digital registry system for mortgages and titles, according to two industry analysts, who recently released the Simplified Mortgage and Recorded Title Act, a proposed bill they claim will help prompt the return of a robust private secondary market for mortgages. The proposed legislation was drafted by William Fry, the sole proprietor of Greenwich Capital, and Robert Hockett, a professor at Cornell Law School. Prospects for the SMART Act look ...
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, had planned to finish his House career with a hearing on housing-finance reform focusing on a bipartisan plan that could get new legs in the next Congress.
Initiating non-judicial foreclosure is not a debt collection activity under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the CFPB argued in a recent court filing in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court decision could have significant impact on the mortgage industry.
Midterm election results will likely push any housing-finance reform legislation further away, slow deregulatory efforts by Trump appointees, and dash any chances of another regulatory relief bill, according to analyses of the results.
There is widespread consensus about the future role of the government in mortgage finance, but it’s by no means homogenous. The Trump administration gets to name a new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency who can work with Treasury to steer the GSEs toward a revised, likely narrower, role. The new FHFA chief will have command of the enterprises for five years, with dim prospects of Congress tackling long-term reform. Michael Stegman, senior fellow for housing policy at ...
This week’s midterm election ushered in a sea-change in the House of Representatives but it’s uncertain how it will influence housing finance reform. Now that the Democrats are the majority in the House, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is in line to serve as chair of the House Financial Services Committee. Back in July, Waters said fixing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be a top priority if Democrats take control of the House. She’s been at odds with outgoing chair, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX ...
With Democrats recapturing control of the House of Representatives this week, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, expected to chair the House Financial Services Committee, the odds of housing-finance reform becoming a reality in 2019 didn’t improve all that much. In short, legislative reform remains a long shot. At least that’s the consensus of industry lobbyists and analysts interviewed this week by Inside Mortgage Trends. “Could Waters get something done?” asked ...