Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, rolled out some of the details of a Republican proposal to replace the Dodd-Frank Act, the Financial CHOICE (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs) Act. The proposal includes the text of a measure already passed by the House, which would provide a QM safe harbor for any mortgage that has been held in portfolio by a depository institution since origination.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, detailed in a speech a proposal that House Republicans have been working on that would replace the Dodd-Frank Act, including some important changes that would scale back the powers of the CFPB. The bill would shift the agency’s mission to include both consumer protection and maintaining competitive markets, with a cost-benefit analysis of rules performed by an Office of Economic Analysis. Also, it would replace the current single director with a bipartisan, five-member commission which would be subject to congressional oversight and appropriations.

A partisan debate is brewing in the Senate over whether a more complex regulatory system could actually lead to increased systemic risk for U.S. banks even as House Republicans weigh proposals to eliminate financial and consumer protections under the Dodd-Frank Act. Discussions in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs this week revolved around the Basel and Dodd-Frank capital and liquidity requirements and whether they are forcing big and small banks to focus more on safety and soundness instead of meeting the needs of consumers and the economy. Post-crisis financial regulations have become...

Calls for a GSE recapitalization are growing louder as industry groups and lawmakers urge Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt to exercise his authority and suspend the Treasury Department’s sweep of Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac profits. Letters to the FHFA and Treasury last week came from a group of small lenders, affordable housing organizations and civil rights advocates, while a group of 32 Democrats on Capitol Hill also chimed in ...

Portfolio lenders would get an expanded safe harbor from litigation under the qualified mortgage standard in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability-to-repay rule under a proposed Republican replacement of the controversial Dodd-Frank Act. “Our plan ... provides critically needed mortgage relief with reforms that let community banks back into the mortgage business and ensure qualified borrowers can purchase a home while preserving prudent underwriting standards,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, in a speech at the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday morning. “Changes include an ability-to-repay safe harbor for loans held on portfolio, ensuring the availability of mortgage credit for manufactured homes, fixing the way points and fees are calculated, and exempting small servicers from escrow requirements.” The proposal, the Financial CHOICE (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs) Act, includes...

A growing number of mortgage-industry groups, housing interests and Democrats on Capitol Hill are urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin to restore their capital bases, while others urge the FHFA to leave the matter to Congress. The Mortgage Bankers Association joined with four other groups this week in urging the FHFA to maintain the current state of conservatorship for the two government-sponsored enterprises and let Congress tackle broad mortgage-finance reform. “Absent reform, we run the risk of continuing to kick the can down the road without ensuring ongoing access to mortgage credit for millions of future homeowners,” the groups said. Joining the MBA were...

A bill making its way through the New York state legislature has prompted concerns among servicers and the Mortgage Bankers Association, who warn that the bill’s requirements regarding abandoned properties would increase costs and legal risks for servicers. A.6932-A, the Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act, was recently approved by New York’s Assembly on a 116-22 vote. The bill would require servicers to periodically inspect properties tied to delinquent mortgages, report vacant properties to a state registry and provide authorities with tools to prompt servicers to maintain abandoned properties, among other provisions. “There is...

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, wants the Federal Housing Finance Agency to delay any decision regarding contesting homeowner association foreclosures that will extinguish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rights under controversial state super-lien laws. Warren, who co-signed a letter to FHFA Director Mel Watt in May with Sen. Edward Markey, D-MA, and eight Massachusetts lawmakers, wants the FHFA to first solicit public comments on the potential change in policy. Under super-lien laws in 22 states, including Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia community associations are given...

A heated partisan debate broke out during a House subcommittee hearing late last week on whether multi-billion dollar settlements designed to resolve legacy MBS cases undermine Congress’ power to appropriate funds. Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations debated whether federal law allows banks to donate money to third-party charities to fulfill some of its settlement obligations. Ranking Minority member Al Green, D-TX, said...

A ruling last week by the Supreme Court of the United States was viewed by the Mortgage Bankers Association as potentially making it harder for plaintiffs to win class-action certifications. Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins involves alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Thomas Robins filed a class-action lawsuit against Spokeo, alleging that his profile on the firm’s website contained inaccurate information. Spokeo is an online aggregator of individuals’ contact- and credit-information. The case was initially dismissed...