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Trump administration

Warsh insists he wouldn’t do Trump’s bidding as Fed chair

Federal Reserve, Monetary policy, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: The fight over Federal Reserve independence has made confirming Warsh politically impossible, with one Republican senator blocking Kevin Warsh’s approval by the Senate Banking Committee.  Forward look: Should the Senate not confirm a Fed chairman, it’s unclear who will helm the central bank when outgoing Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term expires in mid-May.  […]

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OMB’s Vought: CDFIs funded ‘woke’ programs

CDFIs, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: The White House budget would cut funding from the Community Development Financial Institution Fund, as Vought outlined in a House Budget hearing.  Forward look: The program historically has broad bipartisan support in Congress, including a large number of Republicans, but OMB can cause delays in disbursing CDFI funding, even if Congress fully funds

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Trump threatens to fire Fed Chair Powell if he doesn’t resign

Federal Reserve, Monetary policy, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: President Donald Trump says he will remove Fed Chair Jerome Powell from the central bank if he does not leave after his term expires on May 16. Trump also said his administration will not drop its probe into Powell over renovations at the central bank’s headquarters. Expert quote: “I’ll have to fire him

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Exclusive: Warren to probe Warsh on his role in 2008 crisis

Federal Reserve, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pressing the Fed for records on Kevin Warsh’s actions during the 2008 financial crisis, arguing he downplayed subprime risks and helped funnel taxpayer-funded bailouts to major Wall Street firms. Forward look: Warsh’s path to confirmation is already complicated, with Democrats uniformly opposed and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis withholding

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Former Fed official argues against Fed independence

Federal Reserve, Litigation, Monetary policy, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: Former Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Randal Quarles said in a speech Friday that members of the Fed board should serve at the pleasure of the president, but added that keeping regional Fed bank presidents on the Federal Open Market Committee and ensuring their appointments are not influenced by the White House

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Trump budget includes cuts to CDFI Fund

CDFIs, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: The Trump administration’s budget proposes a $204.5 million cut to the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institution Fund, and would redirect remaining awards to rural areas.  What’s at stake: The proposal reflects months of conflict between the Office and Management and Budget and Treasury over the fund’s future, with OMB withholding congressionally appropriated

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Mortgage order adds more rules to diminished CFPB’s load

Politics and policy, Qualified Mortgages, Regulation and compliance, Trump administration /

Key insight: An executive order encouraging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to modify two of its mortgage rules would add a considerable load to the agency’s already overloaded agenda, and at a time when its rulemaking capacity is greatly diminished.  Expert Quote: “The CFPB has a bigger agenda than they’ve ever had with a smaller

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Banks sour on Senate housing bill, but may not stop passage

Housing, Politics and policy, Trump administration /

Key insight: The Senate’s manager’s amendment, which added FHA multifamily loan limit reductions and an institutional investor cap on single-family homes, cost the legislation support from the Mortgage Bankers Association. What’s at stake: Community bank regulatory provisions championed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill were stripped from the Senate version, making it unlikely

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The housing blind spot: Why the Senate’s housing bill is a start, not a solution

Contributors, Housing Policy, HWmember, Legislation, Opinion, Real Estate, The White House, Trump administration /

The passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act felt like a rare event in Washington: genuine, overwhelming bipartisanship. In a political climate defined by caustic friction, an 89-10 vote in the Senate isn’t a legislative victory; it is a confession. It is an admission by both parties that housing affordability has reached a

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Trump’s mortgage order sets stage for regulatory shift, draws consumer backlash

Community Bank, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, HWmember, IMBs, LendingLife, Mortgage, Origination, Regulatory, Regulatory Compliance, Trump administration /

President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting mortgages addresses several concerns raised by banks and nonbanks, which have largely welcomed it as a road map for regulatory change. But it’s also receiving pushback from consumer advocates. Friday’s order on “promoting access to mortgage credit” aims to boost lending by community banks (with less than $30 billion

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