PHH Corp. won another round against some new antagonists in its dispute with the CFPB over alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with the lender and refused to allow three separate efforts to intervene in the case. In a simple, single-page order, the three judges “ordered that the motions be denied.” The ruling affects an effort by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, to insert themselves in the case on behalf of the CFPB. The lawmakers had warned the appeals court that if their effort to intervene was denied, they would seek recourse from ...
The unusual recent case of an unidentified finance company filing suit to prevent the CFPB from disclosing its investigation of the firm, and from bringing any action against it unless and until the agency is restructured in line with the U.S. Constitution, is “yet another challenge to the CFPB’s vast investigative and enforcement authority,” according to two attorneys with the Hudson Cook law firm. “This is a new front in the battle against CFPB overreach,” the pair said in a client note. The stakes here can be high. “Companies facing a CFPB investigation often confront a difficult choice of complying with the investigative demand or fighting the CFPB’s authority,” said the attorneys. “But challenging the CFPB is an uphill battle ...
Hensarling Threatens to Use Budget Reconciliation Process to Push Through CHOICE Act 2.0. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, raised some industry eyebrows last week when details of his new, more aggressive Financial CHOICE Act got leaked to the press, and he indicated he might use the budget reconciliation process to push the bill through Congress.... CFPB Brings Legal Action Against Debt Relief Law Firms, Attorneys. The CFPB recently sued Howard Law PC, Williamson Law Firm LLC, and Williamson & Howard LLP, as well as attorneys Vincent Howard and Lawrence Williamson, in federal court, accusing them of collaborating to charge illegal fees to consumers looking for debt relief....
After the government stalled on a September ruling to turn over close to 60 documents regarding the GSEs’ net worth sweep, a judge rejected its appeal. The court ordered the government to disclose the bulk of the documents to the plaintiff’s attorneys in Fairholme Funds Inc. v. United States. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac investors, upholding Judge Margaret Sweeney’s earlier decision. The government is to release all…
The Cato Institute is a conservative think tank and a quick read of Calabria’s blog makes it sound like he favors getting the government out of the MBS guaranty business...
Treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin still has GSE reform high on his list, according to one of President Trump’s top economic advisors. Meanwhile, speculation abounds as to whether there’s an administrative solution to GSE reform absent any legislative action. After some back and forth on the topic since the announcement of Mnuchin’s nomination his subsequent comments on the GSEs, economic advisor Gary Cohen said in national media outlets late last week that GSE reform is definitely a priority for Mnuchin. In fact, he said that it’s something Mnuchin’s spent a lot of time working on. “Once he gets approved and confirmed, Steve will be taking that on as one of this early priorities. So we definitely have some plans...
Fairholme Capital Management, in a new letter to clients, once again lays out its argument for investing in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock, but also takes a subtle, but polite, swipe at those opposed to a “recap-and-release” plan for the GSEs. “Only the disingenuous would assert that recapitalization of these companies would take decades and come at taxpayers’ expense, as if retaining earnings precluded the ability of each company to raise equity from private investors,” the mutual fund manager writes. Fairholme also notes that it owns GSE junior preferred shares – as opposed to common – because “…the provisions of the preferred stock contracts that...
Fannie Mae’s new regional headquarters under construction in the Dallas metro area is the target of criticism from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA.He questions the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s management of the project in which the GSE is combining three locations into the one leased building. This comes on the heels of the FHFA Office of the Inspector General issuing a management alert late last year raising concerns about the cost of the consolidation and relocation of Fannie’s high-rise offices in Plano, TX. Grassley wants answers as to how the agency plans to address the issues identified in the IG management alert.
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