“We welcome regulators’ efforts to enable banks of all sizes to make more loans to American businesses and households, fueling economic growth while maintaining resilience in the banking system,” said trade groups representing banks.

The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of sales of new homes dropped 17.6% on a monthly basis in January.

One of the goals of the proposals is to help banks better compete with nonbanks.

The National Consumer Law Center predicted that implementing the mortgage-focused order will “re-ignite the market conditions” that led to the financial crisis of 2008.

Among other actions, the order calls for the CFPB to revise major mortgage regulation, such as the ability-to-repay and servicing rules.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has announced a board meeting for March 19 to discuss two proposals to adjust capital requirements for banks.

The two biggest issues the MBA has with the bill in the Senate involve loan limits for FHA multifamily mortgages and provisions in an effort to limit institutional ownership of single-family properties.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said it believes the CFPB's complaint database would be most effective if it functioned as a “secondary escalation mechanism,” available after a consumer has attempted to resolve the issue directly with the company.

A poor jobs report and uncertainty following the launch of the Iran war have made it less likely the Federal Open Market Committee will vote for a rate cut in the near term.

Dallin Merrill, head of policy at the Structured Finance Association, said some larger investors can increase their investments in 144A transactions, but smaller investors still struggle.