The news at the Federal Reserve this week can best be summarized by the term “status quo.” The U.S. central bank held interest rates unchanged, its plan to gradually unwind its massive portfolio continues unchanged, and President Trump nominated Fed governor Jerome Powell to succeed Janet Yellen, likely ensuring more of the same when it comes to the future of both interest rates and the balance sheet. When it came to rates, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee ...
The Department of Justice has announced a non-prosecution deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which includes a $44 million settlement, to resolve a criminal probe of the bank’s activities in non-agency MBS and collateralized loan obligations. The probe accused the bank of defrauding more than 30 customers that purchased residential and commercial MBS as well as ABS over a five-year period beginning in 2008. The group that handled the sales of these securities for RBS was ...
There have been a number of moving parts in GSE shareholder cases recently, including oral arguments heard this week in one case and three separate lawsuits asking the Supreme Court of the United States to review the constitutionality of the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Attorney and managing partner David Thompson with Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C., who represents the shareholders in Christopher Roberts vs. FHFA, participated in this week’s oral arguments in the Seventh Circuit Court. He called the net-worth sweep unlawful because it imposed a “mandatory zero-capital regime and violated its own statutory commands to preserve and conserve assets and restore them to soundness.”
In a well-telegraphed move, federal regulators this week proposed reduced capital requirements for bank holdings of mortgage servicing assets, including mortgage servicing rights. The proposal issued late last week was part of an effort to “simplify” servicing-related capital requirements for all but the largest banks. The proposal would eliminate a 10 percent common equity tier 1 capital deduction threshold that currently applies to MSAs and certain other assets. Instead, a 25 percent deduction ...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week rolled out a new online tool to track mortgage delinquency rates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The mechanism also illustrates the CFPB’s findings on the county and metro-area level with interactive charts and graphs, all based on information in the National Mortgage Database. The Mortgage Performance Trends tool measures loans 30 to 89 days late and those more than 90 days late. The interactive charts and maps ...
The Department of the Treasury, in the third of four reports related to an executive review of federal financial regulations, urged the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reconsider its use of disparate impact policy in the insurance industry. Released last week, the latest report focused on asset management and insurance and the regulatory structure of financial entities and products in each of these structures. Treasury called upon HUD to reevaluate its use of the ...
“The other natural job would be as CFPB director,” the Cowen analyst continued. “That said, Hensarling has shown much greater interest in housing finance…”
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