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Politics and policy

Republicans play nice with Powell despite Trump’s criticism

Republicans play nice with Powell despite Trump’s criticism

Minimum capital requirements, Monetary policy, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance /

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifying in the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday morning.Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — House Republicans struck a mostly cordial tone with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at a hearing at the House Financial Services Committee.  Trump, ahead of the hearing, called on Republicans to press Powell after he held interest rates […]

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‘Taylor Swift tax’ draws ire from mortgage, housing groups

Housing markets, Politics and policy, Property taxes /

Rhode Island real estate professionals are criticizing two new taxes that will increase costs for Ocean State homeowners, including a levy dubbed the “Taylor Swift tax.”  State lawmakers last week approved a $14 billion fiscal year 2026 budget, which now awaits Gov. Dan McKee’s signature. Included in the proposed budget is a 63% increase in

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Trigger lead ban nears finish line in Congress

Law and legal issues, Marketing, MARKETING TO BORROWERS, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance /

After several starts and stops, the trigger leads ban is the closest it’s ever been to becoming law, after the House of Representatives approved its version of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act. There are some differences with the Senate version of the bill, which was approved by unanimous consent on June 12. Those can be

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Fed officially nixes reputation risk from exam practices

Fed officially nixes reputation risk from exam practices

Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance, Risk management /

Bloomberg News The Federal Reserve has officially started scrubbing “reputational risk” from its supervisory policies and practices.  The central bank announced Monday that it is removing all mentions of reputation and reputational risk from its exam manuals and supervisory materials. In some cases, the agency is replacing those references with discussions of specific financial risks.

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Fed’s Bowman makes case for leverage ratio reform

Fed’s Bowman makes case for leverage ratio reform

Minimum capital requirements, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance, Treasurys /

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman.Bloomberg News The Federal Reserve’s top regulator said changes are needed to the supplementary leverage ratio to improve the Treasury market and ensure banks face proper risk incentives.  In a Monday speech, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said the current calibration of the capital requirement is

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Trump signs nullification of OCC bank merger guidelines

Trump signs nullification of OCC bank merger guidelines

M&A, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance, Trump administration /

Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday evening signed a rule that officially eliminates the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s stricter reviews of certain bank mergers.  Trump signed the Congressional Review Act resolution Friday nullifying the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Biden-era rule that got rid of an expedited

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Mortgage pros share tips for riding out volatility

Capital markets, Mortgage Rates, Originations, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance, Risk management /

Short-term market swings are nothing new but the kind of volatility mortgage lenders are dealing with today is driven less by predictable economic indicators and more by geopolitical tensions, trade policy shifts, and global headlines. While volatility has ticked up, it’s not at historic extremes. The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures stress in financial markets,

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Top Treasury official wants to ‘Americanize’ any Basel rule

Top Treasury official wants to ‘Americanize’ any Basel rule

Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance, Treasury Department /

Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg The Treasury Department is working with the bank regulators to finish the U.S.’s Basel committee-pursuant capital standards with an eye to clearing obstacles for American firms and “harmonizing” regulation of the financial system, the deputy secretary said Friday. Michael Faulkender said parts of the capital framework issued by the Basel committee would be

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Foreclosure protection from zombie seconds signed into law

Connecticut, Foreclosures, Politics and policy, Servicing /

A new bill signed into law this month is set to protect some New England homeowners from foreclosure on years-old zombie seconds many likely had forgotten existed.    Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed new legislation into law earlier this month that establishes protections for borrowers with secondary piggyback or 80/20 mortgages whose last payments were recorded

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Stocks gain as Fed’s Waller offers hope on July rate cut

Economy, Politics and policy /

U.S. stocks rose early Friday as investors returned from the Juneteenth holiday break to evaluate recent comments from a top Federal Reserve official as well as the latest developments in the conflict between Israel and Iran. The S&P 500 Index gained 0.6% at 9:43 a.m. in New York, with the benchmark teetering between a weekly

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