Government

Previously, the Trump administration had indicated its support the D.C. Court’s initial ruling, which would make CFPB Director Cordray eligible to be fired at will by the president. Although the CFPB had argued against the administration’s interpretation of the bureau’s constitutionality, the Trump administration has the support of the D.C. Circuit Court.

In remarks at the Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Capital Markets Summit, CFPB Director Richard Cordray discussed the Bureau’s recent efforts—specifically those to adapt regulations to improve compliance and implementation within the industry. The CFPB actively works to provide clarity, solicit feedback, and revise according to that feedback on all rules, he said. The Bureau will soon assess its Dodd-Frank remittances rule and its mortgage rules, as mandated by Congress.

According to a paper released by Fannie Mae on Thursday, educational attainment can increase the likelihood a young adult will buy a home. The paper’s findings showed a decrease in young adult homeownership since the Great Recession, as well as a dip in the likelihood of a 25- to 34-year-old to buy a home.

According to a Progress Report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have made significant movement on goals set forth by FHFA in the 2016 Scorecard. The report notes credit risk transfer programs that reduce taxpayer risk and improved access to credit as just a few of the developments in the last year.

Many immigrants struggle to gain homeownership, however, many immigrants who have been here for 10 years or longer, especially those with higher education, are able to find higher paying jobs and buy a home. Over 61 percent of immigrants from travel-ban countries are homeowners, coming close to the domestic-born homeownership rate of 68.8 percent.

According to Urban Institute, the FHA has more power to increase credit access. The GSEs do risk-based pricing through their loan-level pricing adjustments. However, the FHA does not do risk-based pricing, and so it has insured borrowers and so it has insured borrowers with less-than-pristine credit. Charging the same fee for those with good credit as those with bad credit has limited credit availability.

Founded in 2010, KBRA is a full-service rating agency that provides risk assessment and ratings for the investment community.

The intent of a proposal from the CFPB is to provide additional flexibility for mortgage lenders in the collection of consumer ethnicity and race information. The proposed amendments should provide greater clarity to lenders regarding their obligations under the law, and according to the CFPB will promote compliance with rules intended to ensure customers are treated fairly.

The plans are ambitious. According to FHFA’s update report on Release 2, the agency has two main objectives in undertaking the UMBS initiative. The first is to establish a single, liquid market for the mortgage-backed securities issued by both GSEs that are backed by fixed-rate loans. The second is to maintain the liquidity of the that market over time.

The increase in new home sales could be due to the warm winter which allowed construction to stay on schedule, last year’s strong home construction starts, and a gradual shift from building apartments to individual homes. However, Kirchner says that while construction is up overall, existing home sales are falling.