Dodd-Frank News Center

FHFA announces $885 million settlement with Credit Suisse

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, as conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced that it has reached a settlement with Credit Suisse for $885 million. The settlement resolves all claims in the lawsuit FHFA v. Credit Suisse, et al., as well as all claims against the Credit Suisse defendant in FHFA v. Ally Financial Inc., et al., alleging violations of federal and state securities laws in connection with private-label mortgage-backed securities purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during 2005-2007.

Senators downplay report supporting "Too Big to Fail" policies

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Reacting to a report commissioned by an industry-funded think tank on the need to protect "Too Big to Fail" policies for megabank institutions, Sen. David Vitter (R-La) said that "too big to fail is alive and well, and we shouldn't let megabank funded reports like these give them more ammunition to continue collecting from the taxpayers."

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said the report "only underscores the efforts by Wall Street megabanks to muddy the waters and protect the status-quo that requires hardworking taxpayers to pay for their risky activities." Vitter and Brown are sponsors of the Terminating Bailouts for Taxpayer Fairness Act, which would ensure that financial institutions have adequate capital to protect against losses.

Bill calls for more transparency at CFPB

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Legislation specifying that the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) apply to every Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advisory committee was introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis). FACA was passed in 1972 to ensure that Congress and the public know what is being discussed in government consumer advisory meetings and who is attending them, as well as their cost. Duffy introduced the bill after being denied a request to attend the February 26 and 27 meeting of the CFPB's Consumer Advisory Committee. Currently, only the CIA and the Federal Reserve Open Market Committees are exempt from FACA.

"If the CFPB is not going to take steps to maintain the transparency it claims it is committed to, we will take the legislative steps for them," Duffy said.

OCC removes regulations transferred to CFPB

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has removed regulations concerning registration of mortgage loan originators, and regulations relating to privacy of consumer financial information. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, rulemaking authority for these rules transferred to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on July 21, 2011. The OCC also amended its regulations to update its address to reflect its move to a new headquarters building, to update the address of its Freedom of Information Act web portal, and to update its website address.

CFPB's closed door meeting policy questioned

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

To mark "Sunshine Week," a national initiative launched by the media to promote open government, Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is calling on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray to end the bureau's closed-door meeting policy for its four advisory councils. The Bipartisan Policy Center also has criticized the CFPB for closing its advisory group meetings to the public. Cordray has said the meetings are closed to the public because the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a sunshine law passed in 1972, does not apply to the bureau.

Text of housing finance reform agreement released

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have released the legislative text of the bipartisan housing finance reform agreement that was announced last week. The agreement is designed to protect consumers from bearing the cost of a housing downturn; promote stable, liquid, and efficient mortgage markets for single-family and multifamily housing; ensure that affordable, 30-year, fixed-rate, prepayable mortgages continue to be available, and that affordability remains an important consideration; provide equal access for lenders of all sizes to the secondary market; and facilitate broad availability of mortgage credit for eligible borrowers in all areas and for single family and multifamily housing types. Johnson and Crapo indicated that they plan to hold a committee markup in the coming weeks. They also released a housing reform draft by section document and a summary of the housing reform draft.

OCC adopts interagency examination procedures for consumer compliance

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has adopted the interagency examination procedures reflecting new mortgage rules requirements pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. Accordingly, examiners will use the interagency procedures to assess an institution's compliance with the new mortgage rules. The mortgage rules procedures were developed and adopted on an interagency basis to promote consistency in the examination process and communication of supervisory expectations. The OCC is in the process of incorporating these new procedures into the Comptroller's Handbook "Consumer Compliance" series. Until the OCC issues updated Handbook booklets for the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act , the approved interagency procedures are posted on the OCC website, the OCC indicated.

• OCC 2014-7
• Interagency TILA/Regulation Z Examination Manual Narrative
• Interagency TILA/Regulation Z Examination Procedures
• Interagency RESPA/Regulation X Examination Manual Narrative
• Interagency RESPA/Regulation X Examination Procedures

Congress sends bipartisan flood insurance measure to president

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

The Senate has passed legislation by a 77 to 22 margin that will delay flood insurance rate hikes to residences and businesses. The "Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act" is intended to help protect homeowners from facing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood insurance premium rate hikes.

As flood zones are updated as a result of implementation of the Biggert-Waters National Flood Insurance Reform Act, many homeowners have been placed into a flood zone for the first time and are being required to pay thousands of dollars in premiums under new flood insurance rate rules. The new legislation will delay the implementation of the new maps until FEMA completes an affordability study. The legislation also includes a provision that would compensate homeowners when they successfully appeal their placement into a flood zone.

Bill to stabilize FHA loan limits introduced

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

A bill intended to counteract the reductions in available mortgage credit due to the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) new lower loan limits has been introduced by Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif). The measure, which Miller said would provide many first-time home buyers access to low down payment financing that is affordable, would address recent FHA changes by:

• stabilizing the loan limit calculations by requiring that the Department of Housing and Urban Development use the Median Home Price used to calculate the loan limit for the area be at least the MHP that was used in 2013 to calculate the limit; and
• granting HUD Sub-Area authority to subdivide and adjust loan limits for different real estate markets within the same county.

          

Proposal for housing finance reform bill announced; legislators respond

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) announced that they have reached an agreement on a housing finance reform proposal. Last fall, the Senate Banking Committee hosted an in-depth series of hearings exploring essential elements necessary for reform, and over the past few months the senators have been negotiating and drafting the reform proposal. The bipartisan agreement includes measures from committee members on both sides of the aisle, the administration, and stakeholders.