The GOP convention starts in a few days and the party of Lincoln and Roosevelt (Teddy) has its daggers pointed toward Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Bully!

Capital requirements that are set to take effect in 2018 for bank holdings of mortgage servicing rights won’t prompt changes to servicing activities or portfolios at most banks, according to a new analysis by federal regulators. The report by four federal banking regulators on the effect of capital rules on MSR assets was prompted by the omnibus spending bill that was signed into law in late 2015. The banking regulators examined a number of MSR trends and determined that the current regulatory course is sufficient. At the start of 2018, capital requirements for banks will get...

The debate on what caused the financial crisis and how the federal government should respond continued this week in the House Financial Services Committee. At a hearing on the Financial CHOICE Act sponsored by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, Republicans and banking-industry participants largely supported the bill while Democrats and a consumer advocate offered dire warnings. The Financial CHOICE Act would allow banking institutions to opt in to a regulatory system that puts an emphasis on capital. Under the bill, firms with an average leverage ratio of at least 10 percent would be functionally exempt from provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act, Basel III capital and liquidity standards and other regulations. “Freeing well-capitalized, well-managed financial firms from the chokehold of an overly intrusive, heavily politicized regulatory regime will help create...

The Obama administration’s top housing official took a beating from Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee during a hearing this week over recent changes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Distressed Asset Sales Program, also known as DASP. For more than two hours, HUD Secretary Julian Castro faced a relentless attack by Republicans angered by what they perceived as preferential treatment given to nonprofits and local government over private investors in the DASP bidding process. The federal program sells pools of severely delinquent FHA mortgages to investors to help distressed borrowers stay in their homes and, at the same time, minimize losses to the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Most of the nonperforming loans in the DASP pools are...

One mortgage insurance lobbyist added: “Fannie and Freddie really don’t want to cut fees. It would hurt their earnings. It’s hard to imagine them doing anything right now that would reduce revenues.”

With the presidential election underway, many Americans are beginning to analyze and critique the candidate’s various policies – including their views on housing and finance.

Should the industry be concerned if the borrower finds out about LLPAs?

The president and CEO of the Credit Union National Association countered that the current limitations on QMs may disqualify creditworthy members from obtaining a mortgage.

Although commercial banks are making money hand-over-first these days, that doesn’t mean national bank regulators shouldn’t worry.

Recently, several trade groups and community organizations have called on Watt to allow Fannie and Freddie to rebuild their capital buffers ...