Pushback of proposed certification requirements and a vacant leadership role have led to a year-long blackout on new CDFI applications.

Disagreements about the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s new pricing grids for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac highlight differences between Democrats and Republicans.

The earlier-than-expected end of the COVID national emergency has brought additional regulatory pressure on mortgage servicers.

The bipartisan Middle-Class Mortgage Insurance Premium Act was reintroduced in the House last week by Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-FL, and Jimmy Panetta, D-CA.

Rocket has a huge imbalance between refinances and purchases. Will “distributed” retail help? Meanwhile, FHA rolls out its 40-year modification product.

Patrick McHenry, R-NC, new chair of the House Financial Services Committee, is viewed as a consensus-maker. But will his politics make it difficult to find common ground with the White House and Senate?

In the lame duck session, Congress managed to pass a spending bill with funding for FHA IT modernization. A separate bill updating standards for VA appraisals also made it to President Biden’s desk.

Divided leadership in Congress means bipartisanship will be required to get bills to President Biden’s desk. Not many mortgage-related bills are expected to make it that far in the next two years.

Appraisal reform and redlining were major focus areas at an annual event that highlights federal accomplishments in fair lending. The Fed, meanwhile, will release new redlining risk assessment materials, perhaps by the weekend.

With prospects for the Build Back Better Act doomed, Senate leadership has proposed a new version of the budget reconciliation legislation under the moniker the Inflation Reduction Act.