Fair Lending Shake-Ups: CFPB Vacates Townstone Settlement, FHFA Ends GSEs' Special Purpose Credit Programs — The Consumer Finance Podcast
On June 25, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a directive ordering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for treating cryptocurrency held on U.S.-regulated exchanges as assets for reserves in...more
Fannie Mae (1938) and Freddie Mac (1970) were created with the end goal of promoting homeownership across the United States. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both government-sponsored entities (“GSEs”), are publicly traded and...more
On April 16, three senators urged the FHFA Inspector General to investigate the agency’s purported noncompliance with federal laws and regulations concerning corporate governance at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Jack Reed...more
On April 15, ten U.S. Senators sent a letter addressed to Mr. Brian M. Tomney, Inspector General of the FHFA, requesting that the FHFA OIG review recent actions taken by FHFA leadership to overhaul the boards at Fannie Mae...more
In a significant policy shift under the Trump administration, the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued an order on March 25, 2025 terminating special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) supported...more
On March 14, the FHFA announced that Director William Pulte was sworn in as its fifth director in a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on March 14. Pulte was appointed by President Trump and will serve a five-year term...more
On March 4, the FHFA ordered both government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to submit stress testing results based on their financial positions as of December 31, 2024, following scenarios issued by the...more
February 25, 2025- The Financial Deposit Insurance Corporation released the Quarterly Banking Profile for Q4 2024 with reports from 4,487 commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the FDIC which reported a...more
Recently, the FHFA issued a final rule amending its regulations on FHLBanks’ (Banks) capital requirements, specifically modifying limits on certain types of extensions of unsecured credit by the FHLBanks. Specifically,...more
January 28, 2025 - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released two reports looking at national rental payment data from September 2021 to November 2024. January 28, 2025 - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau...more
January 14, 2025- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Martin Gruenberg gave a speech entitled “Three Financial Crises and Lessons for the Future,” at the Brookings Institution....more
January 8, 2025- The Federal Reserve released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that was held on December 17–18, 2024. January 8, 2025 - Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher J. Waller gave a...more
December 30, 2024- U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) released his 2024 Year-in-Review and Oversight Report for the 118th Congress, highlighting Banking Committee...more
December 23, 2024- In view of the evolving legal landscape, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced it will soon seek public comment on significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank...more
December 20, 2024- The Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which sets out the high-level...more
December 16, 2024 - The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) set forth the key issues facing the federal banking system in its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Fall 2024....more
On December 6, the Financial Stability Oversight Council approved its 2024 Annual Report, which reviewed financial market developments, identifies vulnerabilities, and recommended measures to manage financial stability risk....more
November 20, 2024 - The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing entitled, “Oversight of Prudential Regulators.” The Committee heard testimony from: The Honorable Michael Barr, Vice Chairman for...more
On November 1, the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and the FHFA announced the creation of a working group to increase capital for affordable housing lending from the FHLBs. ...more
As we continue to analyze the strength of former President Trump’s red wave, one thing is clear: a number of federal agencies are poised for a major shift in their rulemaking agendas, priorities, staffing and approach to...more
November 7, 2024 - The Federal Open Markets Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point to 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 percent. November 7, 2024- Securities and Exchange...more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
October 31, 2024- Members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services sent a letter to federal banking regulators at the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Federal...more
On September 27, the FHFA released its NPRM and request for comment to amend capital requirements for FHLBanks to modify limits on unsecured credit extensions. The proposal seeks to exclude interest-bearing deposit accounts...more
September 30, 2024- Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell gave a speech entitled “Economic Outlook,” at the National Association for Business Economics Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee....more