A coalition of industry groups has urged the Senate Committee on Finance to retain the current capital gain exclusion on the sale of a principal residence, warning that such a provision in the Republican tax reform plan would adversely affect young families and those relocating to new jobs. Specifically, the proposal in the House and Senate versions of the tax bill would retain the $500,000 capital gain exclusion ($250,000 for unmarried taxpayers) but lengthen ownership and use requirements ...

Banks servicing delinquent mortgages in 2009-2010 allegedly delayed foreclosure starts in the districts of then-members of the House Financial Services Committee in order to influence legislative action on the Dodd-Frank Act, according to a working paper published by the Ohio State University.

Members of the House Financial Services Committee this week approved a bill that would sus-pend Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac contributions to the Housing Trust Fund if the government-sponsored enterprises don’t pay dividends to Treasury. The panel approved the bill on a partisan vote of 33 to 27.

It appears that Congressional reform of the housing-finance system – and final resolution of Fan-nie Mae and Freddie Mac – is back on track with a key piece of good news for MBS investors: an ex-plicit federal guarantee on conventional product looks likely.

Panelists during a House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance hearing this week disagreed on the type of credit-risk sharing transfers that future MBS guarantors should use in a reformed housing-finance system.

Regulatory reform legislation with limited bipartisan support is making its way through the Senate, and a change in leadership at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could provide further relief for the industry. This week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs approved a regulatory reform bill on a 16-7 vote. S. 2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, would make adjustments to the standards for qualified mortgages ...

Housing-finance reform legislation in Congress will likely include a government guarantee for mortgage securities backed by conventional home loans after a concession this week by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX. The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has long pushed to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, removing the government guarantee associated with the government-sponsored enterprises. “I continue to believe that a government guarantee in ...

Tax reform legislation on track for enactment by the end of the year could have an outsized impact on the jumbo market, according to industry analysts. The House and Senate are currently working to reconcile differences between their versions of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. A concern for jumbo lenders is that both versions of the bill would set a $10,000 limit for deductions relating to state/local property taxes and eliminate deductions for state/local income taxes. The House bill ...

Despite industry worries that the struggle over the leadership of the Consumer Financial Protec-tion Bureau might derail congressional efforts to enact regulatory relief legislation, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee did just that this week, with 16 ayes prevailing over seven nays.

An intensive burst of lobbying helped mortgage servicers avoid adverse consequences in the tax reform bill passed by the Senate late last week. But housing-industry representatives continue to warn that the legislation would lead to home-price reductions and reduce incentives for homeownership.