News

Concerned by the risk that new regulatory infrastructure may duplicate existing financial rules, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to the Treasury Department and Federal Trade Commission on Monday outlining recommendations to minimize overlap between the former and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Addressing Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, the letter called for a Memorandum of Understanding in order to clarify and empower the FTC and CFPB.

Under a new agreement between American Bankers Association subsidiary Business Solutions and Mortgagebot, banks signed up with the former will have the ability to access solutions for their online mortgage applications.

On Tuesday the nonprofit data subsidiary of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), MISMO, announced the appointment of senior executive Gabe Minton to a seat on its six-member board of directors. Gabe will provide excellent leadership for MISMO as it drives the development of technology standards for both the residential and commercial real estate finance industries, Michael D.

On Tuesday the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported a slight 0.8 percent rise in home prices from March to April, representing a positive note in a brittle housing market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released research on this week indicating a greater-than-expected drive to high conforming jumbo mortgages (HCJMs) by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, raising questions about the long-term impact their buying spree may have on private markets. According to the research, the government-sponsored enterprises walked away this year with approximately 55 percent of HCJMs in 10 of the nation's high-cost counties, a number totaling approximately 50,000 mortgages worth over $30 billion.

Adding to an innovative new remediation platform it launched in May, the National Association of Field Mortgage Services announced key additions that propose to enhance the speed and ease in field services.

Despite gridlock in the confirmation process for its embattled nominee, news reports put the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on schedule to launch formal operations and ready to begin policing Wall Street in July, with or without the director that Senate Republicans vow to obstruct. With its management team and staff already in place, a broad array of powers sanctioned by the Dodd-Frank Act will empower the consumer protection bureau to issue new rules for over 100 banks with more than $10 billion in assets.

Spooked by speculation that the federal government may withhold bailout funds from banks deemed too big to fail in another crisis, Moody's Investors Service placed the debt ratings for three leading banking institutions under review in June, according to NASDAQ.com. The ratings agency said that the reviews will assess deposit, senior debt, and senior subordinated debt ratings. If lowered, the new ratings would downgrade the banks' reputation as financially solvent institutions, diminishing their abilities to borrow large sums and meet bottom lines.

Firing another salvo at the new Dodd-Frank regulatory regime, House Republicans submitted an appropriations bill last week that proposes slashing $350 million from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's budget for 2012. Released by the House Committee on Appropriations, the bill offers to cap funding for the CFPB at $200 million, keeping to a minimum the sweeping powers that Dodd-Frank invested in the new regulatory agency. Provisions also threatened to kneecap the Obama administration's 2011 fiscal year budget.

In a statement released Thursday, Transwestern announced the appointment of Sunjay Arya as transaction manager at its Houston headquarters. We are excited about the growth of our multifamily team, both locally and nationally, said Ed Cummins, SVP of multifamily services.