Government

Various legislation has been introduced by Republicans in an attempt to reduce the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the last year, but there has not been any law proposed to completely eliminate the Bureau – until now. U.S. Representative John Ratcliffe and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, both Republicans from Texas, have combined to sponsor a bill that would completely abolish the CFPB, according to announcements on both lawmakers' websites.

Freddie Mac recently announced the election of Lance F. Drummond as a director on the company's board. Drummond, age 60, is a senior business leader with extensive experience specializing in business transforming strategy development and execution, operations, technology, and process re-engineering.

While there has been a massive amount of conversation about the future roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the conversation often fails to address what these GSEs' government mortgage programs do for the mortgage market. Urban Institute recently released a report, identifying how programs like the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and the Government National Mortgage Association impact the mortgage market.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finally set an official effective date for the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule, also called the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule, after much debate and numerous industry requests to delay the rule. The CFPB issued a final rule moving the effective date to Saturday, October 3, 2015 on Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015 marks the fifth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. As Dodd-Frank turns five, congress members and industry leaders examine just how effective the reform act has been within the government agencies to which it was applied.

Commentary is an ongoing series on theMReport.com that focuses on opinions, ideas, and insights from experts across mortgage banking. This advisory piece features Melissa Kozicki, director of compliance for the Mortgage Builder Division of Altisource, discussing the upcoming implementation of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, and how mortgage bankers must put a plan in place to manage vendor liability and risk within the context of the new rule.

As the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act prepares reach its fifth anniversary, a new report found that although the majority of the rules set forth in this act have already been implemented by various federal regulated agencies, there are several reform rules that have yet to be enacted, including rules for executive compensation, derivatives, and consumer debt.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen had a busy week, making semi-annual appearances before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. In both hearings, Yellen addressed the subject of the much-anticipated federal funds range increase.

The U.S. Census Bureau and HUD jointly announced today in a press release new residential construction statistics for June 2015 finding single-family building permits rose slightly, while housing starts and housing completions both declined.

Steven L. Antonakes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s second-in-command official, announced Thursday in a memo to employees that he is stepping down from his position with the CFPB. Before being appointed as the CFPB's Deputy Director, Antonakes served as the Bureau's Assistant Director of Large Bank Supervision.