House Democrats are trying to persuade Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson to reinstate a 25-basis-point FHA mortgage insurance premium cut scheduled under the Obama administration, citing continuing improvement of the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. In a letter to Carson last week, 21 Democrats led by Rep. Joyce Beatty, OH, called upon the secretary to place homeownership within the reach of families, especially millennials and minorities, by lowering the FHA annual MIP rates to the same level that was announced during the waning days of the Obama administration. On Jan. 9, 2017, encouraged by the strong recovery of the MMI Fund, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro announced...

Getting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of limbo should not result in the creation of multiple guarantors, according to community lenders testifying at a housing-finance reform hearing in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee last week. “The worst outcome in … reform would be to allow a small number of mega-firms to assume the size and scale of Fannie and Freddie under the pretense of creating a private sector solution strong enough to assure the markets in all economic conditions,” said Jack Hopkins, president and CEO of CorTrust Bank, on behalf of the Independent Community Bankers Association. Any plan that promotes consolidation is...

The House Financial Services Committee agreed to make key changes to flood insurance reform legislation clearing the way for industry groups to endorse the bill. The committee’s most recent draft includes provisions that would retain “grandfathering,” a policy that protects policyholders from significant rate increases when the Federal Emergency Management Agency periodically revises its flood maps, and allow federal flood insurance coverage of new homes built in 100-year floodplains. The committee also proposes...

The Trump administration and many Republicans in Congress are working on tax-reform legislation that could have a significant impact on the utility of the mortgage interest deduction, prompting warnings from the National Association of Realtors. “The decimation of the mortgage interest and real property tax deductions would very likely cause a significant plunge in the value of all houses,” said NAR President William Brown in a recent letter to Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance. Currently, homeowners who itemize their deductions can exclude...

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its long-awaited rule banning mandatory arbitration in consumer financial contracts. The industry concern is that, if left intact, the rule could lead to a rash of litigation impairing liquidity in the secondary markets and limiting consumer access to credit as companies seek to pull back on their risk exposure. The final rule prohibits “covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services from using an agreement with a consumer that provides for arbitration of any future dispute between the parties to bar the consumer from filing or participating in a class action concerning the covered consumer financial product or service.” It further requires...

Although reform of the government-sponsored enterprises is highly unlikely this year, community lenders went to Capitol Hill this week, testifying that equal opportunity in the secondary market and preserving the cash window are sacred tenets that cannot be compromised. At a GSE reform hearing late this week, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, called small lenders “fixtures in their communities” with local knowledge and expertise. “As we prepare to reform the system we must understand how small lenders access the market,” he said. Many community lenders access...

The House Appropriations Committee this week approved a FY 2018 spending bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development with a $135 million allocation for information technology upgrades in lieu of a proposed lender fee. The set-aside also covers quality control and risk management improvements as well as other administrative costs. The recommended funding is $5 million more than the FY 2017 enacted level for administrative contract expenses and $25 million below the budget request. Approved by a vote of 31 to 20, the bill provides HUD with $38.3 billion in discretionary spending for FY 2018, down $487 million from the current level. The House bill authorizes $400 billion for loan guarantees under the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, including the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program, and $500 billion for Ginnie Mae. Ginnie will also receive $25.4 million for agency staffing, which is ...

Bipartisan Flood Bill Introduced in Senate. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will soon consider a bipartisan bill introduced this week that would keep the National Flood Insurance Program funded for six more years and create new risk mitigation procedures for communities to follow.Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-ID, and ranking Democrat Sherrod Brown, OH, said the bill would serve as a template for consideration by the whole committee. The Senate bill does not include core provisions in the House version, including the development of a private flood insurance market to complement the NFIP. In addition, the bill does not call for cuts in the reimbursement rate for Write-Your-Own flood-insurance carriers that service NFIP policies. However, amendments are likely, according to Crapo and Brown. Meanwhile, the ...

The House Appropriations Committee this week approved a fiscal year 2018 funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development with a $135 million allocation for systems enhancements, quality control and risk management improvements in lieu of a proposed lender fee. Approved by a vote of 31 to 20, the bill provides HUD with $38.3 billion in discretionary funding for FY 2018, down $487 million from the current level. The House measure authorizes...

With GSE reform moving up the priority list in the minds of lawmakers and industry executives, Federal Reserve Governor Jay Powell joined the conversation last week and said it’s time to act now before it’s too late. Following the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on GSE reform, Powell spoke at the American Enterprise Institute and urged lawmakers to come up with a solution while the economy is healthy. He worries that if reform doesn’t happen soon, the status quo will become comfortable. Moreover, Powell said any change would be more challenging to enact during difficult economic times.