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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has denied Ocwen Financial Corporations’s attempt to expedite a court ruling on the constitutionality of the Bureau. The CFPB said that the mortgage servicer shouldn’t get special treatment in the case, alleging it failed “every stage of the mortgage servicing process.” The CFPB attempted to block Ocwen’s expediting attempt by telling a Florida federal court to deny Ocwen’s attempt at fast-tracking its constitutional challenge against the agency’s structure.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the stepping down of Comptroller Thomas Curry on May 5. That day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced his intention to appoint Keith Noreika as a Deputy Comptroller and designate him the First Deputy Comptroller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Noreika will become Acting Comptroller of the Currency on May 5 and is currently a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and was a partner at Covington & Burling, specializing in banking regulation.

President Trump nominated Pam Patenaude to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on Friday. Patenaude, currently President of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for America’s Families, has a long history in the industry. Executives from all ends of the spectrum have praised her nomination.

With just hours to spare, Congress overwhelmingly approved a short-term spending bill which would prevent the weekend shutdown, avoiding potential clogs in the mortgage industry. A government shutdown would have slowed the mortgage process and even prevented some buyers from closing, as access to tax information and social security would have been halted during the shutdown. The housing market is stronger now than it was in 2013, and application volume is greater, meaning that that more buyers could have been affected.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis Q1 GDP growth estimate was below the Wall Street estimate for the quarter, but in the opinion of Brett F Ewing and S. Lance Mitchell, Chief Market Strategist and Research Director (respectively) for First Franklin Financial Services, it is an “inflection point” for the economy in the midst of a tight labor market. Experts said that the slower growth was an "inevitable reversal" following the high growth of Q4 2016.

After the Financial Services Committee's hearing on the Financial CHOICE Act, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed his approval of the act. The act was introduced during a hearing of the Committee by Commitee Chairman Jeb Hensarling on Wednesday as an alternative to the Dodd-Frank act. Financial CHOICE aims to end taxpayer-funded bailouts of big banks, impose tougher penalties for financial fraud and insider trading, and demand greater accountability from regulators.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin released the president's tax reform plan which could have a significant impact on the mortgage industry and the financial industry as a whole. Calling the tax cuts in President Trump’s reform “The biggest tax cut and largest tax reform in history of this country,” the reform would reduce corporate taxes down to 15 percent, cut the top tax bracket down to 35 percent, and double the standard deduction.

Approaching President Trump's 100th day in office, we took a look at how his administration has impacted the financial sector. From lending rates to bank stock prices, see in what directions the needle has moved in reaction to policy changes made by the president. We’ll also take a look at what impact Trump’s executive orders affecting Dodd-Frank is having on the market as well as how the housing industry may be impacted by a recent tariff on Canadian lumber.

With the federal funding running out on Friday and a potential government shutdown looming, expect to see an impact on the mortgage industry. Access to tax documents and other government paperwork may prove difficult in the event of a shutdown. Furloughs at the IRS and Social Security can cause roadblocks in the application process.

Critics have begun to speak out after President Trump signed two executive orders calling for the review into “too big to fail” and a number of financial oversight entities. Some even fear it could signal another financial crisis is on the horizon. Trump’s orders specifically require a review of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Orderly Liquidation Authority.