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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released policy statements placing new conditions on No-Action Letters and its Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy, intended to ensure companies use these tools for their intended purposes related to testing innovative financial products or services without fear of legal repercussions. Dodd Frank Update reached out to a pair of former CFPB attorneys about the new restrictions and the implications of issuing such a proposal just before a change in presidential administration.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order implementing a regulatory freeze, directing federal agencies to halt the issuance of new regulations pending review and approval by department heads appointed by the newly installed presidential administration. Dodd Frank Update consulted two former CFPB attorneys, Richard Horn, co-managing partner at Garris Horn LLP, and David Friend, owner of Friend Mortgage Consulting, about the implications of these orders from the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke Biden-era executive orders on artificial intelligence infrastructure and issue new directives in their place may mean increased uncertainty and possibly open the door to industry-led standards similar to those developed in the open banking space. Dodd Frank Update consulted Husch-Blackwell Partner Chris Friedman about the potential immediate and long-term implications.

President Donald Trump’s pick to run the U.S. Treasury Department received Senate approval via a 68-29 vote on Jan. 27. Mortgage industry advocates said they are committed to working with the new treasury secretary on extending the 2017 tax cuts and ending the conservatorships of the government-sponsored enterprises.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered the operator of Cash App to pay up to $175 million in refunds and penalties for its alleged failure to properly investigate and resolve disputes involving unauthorized transactions. The bureau claimed the fintech used fine print and automated messages to delay and hinder complaint resolution.

The first bank acquisition by a credit union announced this year reignited concern from the community banking sector after Frontwave Credit Union entered a definitive agreement to acquire Community Valley Bank to expand its footprint in Southern California.

Numerous financial trade organizations issued statements welcoming Donald Trump back to the White House for a second term. Industry leaders urged the new administration to strongly consider a host of reforms aimed at benefitting financial institutions and their agendas.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 to advance Scott Turner’s nomination to become the new secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in a party-line vote. Mortgage Bankers Association President and CEO Bob Broeksmit suggested a way the Trump administration could lower housing costs for low- to moderate-income Americans.

In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed an interpretive rule that would subject transactions involving virtual currencies to consumer protection requirements described under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and Regulation E. Dodd Frank Update spoke with Garris Horn LLP Senior Partner John Levonick about the implications of the bureau’s latest tech-centric proposal.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the first bank failure of 2025 as Chicago-based Pulaski Savings Bank shut its doors, with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation named as the receiver.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused a mortgage lender of discouraging homebuyers from applying for mortgages in majority-minority areas in Chicago and Boston in an enforcement action describing the company’s alleged discriminatory mortgage lending activities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission levied $60 million in civil penalties against Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch for alleged failures related to their cash sweep programs. Specifically, the agency claimed the firms did not follow federal laws requiring investment advisors to consider clients’ best interests.

Reading Cooperative Bank and Wakefield Cooperative Bank announced plans to enter into a partnership agreement in an effort to create a stronger, more resilient financial institution. An executive from one of the two banks explained to Dodd Frank Update why the agreement was described as a “partnership” rather than a “merger” or “acquisition.”

In the closing weeks of the Biden administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau churned out a string of enforcement actions targeting participants in the auto industry and the student loan marketplace. Find relevant insights from actions involving these industries in this regulatory roundup.

Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump made several designations to acting roles at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Securities Exchange Commission and the National Credit Union Administration, among others.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corp. of discriminatory mortgage lending activities in an enforcement action claiming the company discouraged homebuyers from applying to Draper for homes in majority-minority areas.

Lower recently appointed former Redfin-executive Adam Wiener to be its new president. Wiener will be tasked with leading Lower’s technology, marketing, data science, and direct-to-consumer sales organizations, according to a press release. Lower is a multi-channel, digital home finance company, backed by Accel, SoFi, and Veritex Bank.

October Research’s Keys to Real Estate podcast interrupted its season break to deliver a timely and exclusive discussion with Dr. Mark Calabria, a senior advisor at the Cato Institute who served as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency during the first Trump administration. Calabria sat down with October Research Chief Knowledge Officer Mary Schuster to offer insights about what the housing and lending sectors might expect during president-elect Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed suit against Capital One, N.A., and its parent company, Capital One Financial Corp., for allegedly cheating millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest. The company responded to the allegations.

President-elect Donald Trump said he intends to nominate Bill Pulte to become the next director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. If confirmed by the Senate, Pulte would take over for Sandra Thompson and become the agency’s fourth director since it was established in July 2008.

In one of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s last actions under Director Sandra Thompson, the agency issued a final rule adjusting the treatment of certain short-term Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) investments to improve access to liquidity. The rule will remove capital restrictions on certain forms of unsecured credit that may be extended to FHLBanks.

Mortgage applications surged by more than 33 percent in the week ending Jan. 10 with interest rates climbing across most loan types, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

A new mortgagee letter posted by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offered lenders an opportunity to review an updated draft of its policy on “Partial Claim Document Recording and Payoff Statements” on the Office of Single-Family Housing Drafting Table and provide feedback.

Legislation introduced by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) is intended to renew efforts to encourage the creation of banks serving rural and other underserved communities by easing federal regulatory restrictions for newly established institutions in these areas.

For the second time this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against one of the nation’s three largest credit reporting agencies for allegedly failing to investigate consumer disputes properly.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule seeking to ban the use of certain legal waivers and fine print in financial contracts that have the effect of forcing consumers to choose between participating in the financial system or giving up their rights, including those guaranteed by the Constitution. According to the bureau, the proposal is meant to stop companies from using “take-it-or-leave-it” clauses that limit fundamental freedoms, including those that censor certain types of speech.

The Federal Reserve announced plans to update its stress testing process to improve transparency and reduce the volatility of the resulting capital buffer requirements. Although banking advocates largely support the planned changes, several industry groups filed suit in federal court seeking to prevent potential harm arising from the current stress testing regime.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its annual threshold adjustments to Regulation Z, the implementing regulation for the Truth in Lending Act. The adjustments account for changes in the asset-size thresholds for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan.

Bank of America will work to address deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance programs as directed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The bank indicated it has been cooperating with regulators to address these issues for over a year.

With a new Congress in session and a new presidential administration set to take office, industry trade organizations are clamoring to make their voices heard at the federal level. The nation’s largest trade group representing consumer banks is advocating for a laundry list of reforms to consumer financial protection rules and regulations while the country’s largest credit union advocacy group is concerned with preserving its members’ tax-exempt status.

A newly revealed final rule by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is intended to strengthen and modernize regulations for the HOME Investment Partnership Program, the largest federal grant program specifically for creating housing for disadvantaged households.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit against Capital One, N.A., and its parent company, Capital One Financial Corp., for allegedly cheating millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule seeking to ban the use of certain legal waivers and fine print in financial contracts that have the effect of forcing consumers to choose between participating in the financial system or giving up their rights, including those guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognized Financial Data Exchange as the first standard-setting body to be tasked with establishing data privacy requirements under the bureau’s final rule on personal financial data rights under Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Data privacy is a major concern for the real estate finance sector, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule implementing Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act is perhaps the most significant regulation to ever address such an issue. That is why Dodd Frank Update is launching the “Data Privacy Vault” to hold all our coverage of every volley in the ping-pong match between the finance industry and regulators over how to protect consumers’ sensitive data.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway, accusing the nonbank company of predatory lending practices that set families up for financial failure when purchasing manufactured homes.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced that reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information in light of recent legal developments. This news follows a recent federal court decision in the case of Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al.

The window to file demographic information required under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act has been opened and the current state of emergency in California caused banking regulators to address impacted institutions. Find details about these developments and more in this regulatory roundup.

The Senate Banking Committee will have a new leadership makeup in the next Congress. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) will move from the ranking member role to the chairmanship, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will become the new committee’s new ranking member.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognized Financial Data Exchange as the first standard-setting body to be tasked with establishing data privacy requirements under the bureau’s final rule on personal financial data rights under Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

BSI Financial Services, a national mortgage fintech platform, announced that its senior vice president of sales, client and transaction management, Allen Price, became the first mortgage servicing executive appointed to the IMN Home Equity Investment Advisory Board.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule to prohibit medical debt from being included on credit reports used by lenders to make credit determinations. The rule will make amendments to the implementing rule for the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Regulation V. The CFPB said it expects the rule to lead to approximately 22,000 additional, affordable mortgage loan approvals annually. Additionally, Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores increase by an average of 20 points.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed suit against Experian, accusing the nationwide consumer reporting agency of failing to properly investigate consumer disputes as required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the U.S. Treasury Department took a significant step toward creating a path to ending the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae with new amendments to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr announced his intent to step down from his vice chair role on Feb. 28, or once a successor is confirmed. The Fed indicated it does not intend to take up any major rulemakings until his successor is confirmed.

The new year means it is time for various industry trade groups to both look back at their activities and accomplishments from 2024 and set a new list of priorities for 2025. Multiple organizations representing banks and credit unions also announced new executive hires in the opening week of the year. Learn about some of these noteworthy moves and policy announcements in this roundup.

Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) released the committee’s legislative and oversight priorities for the 119th Congress, listing increasing access to credit, promoting innovation, and holding the Biden administration accountable among its top objectives.

One major hurdle to homeownership for first-time buyers is affordability. This is a topic with which Miki Adams, president at CBC Mortgage Agency, is well-acquainted. Adams spoke with Dodd Frank Update on the affordability of homeownership and how down payment assistance programs can help.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. executed a passivity agreement with The Vanguard Group on Dec. 27 intended to mitigate risks of large investors from exerting undue influence over financial institutions in which they hold significant stakes. The agency indicated such agreements are necessary as a means of maintaining integrity and stability of the financial system.

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs heard testimony from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra in a hearing titled, “Consumer Protection: Protecting workers’ money and fighting for the dignity of work.” With the Trump administration expected to replace Chopra, the hearing may have been his last as head of the agency.

Just before the end of the calendar year, Zeal Credit Union became the 22nd credit union to acquire a bank in 2024 when it entered into a definitive agreement with Gogebic Range Bank and its holding company West End Financial Corp. The deal elicited calls for heightened regulatory scrutiny from the community banking sector.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s lawsuit against three major U.S. banks and Early Warning Services, the company that operates Zelle, has elicited strong industry backlash. See what is being said in this roundup.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) reiterated their recommendations that federal banking regulators take action to protect Americans against the growing risks posed by the private credit market in a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Vice Chair of Supervision Michael Barr.

Three of the country’s largest banks are being sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a lack of effective fraud safeguards around the Zelle payment network. The lawsuit names JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo as defendants, as well as the operator of the Zelle payment network.

Continuing its crackdown on “junk fees” and fintechs that violate federal consumer protection laws, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed suit against Walmart and Branch Messenger for illegally forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to receive earnings. Branch is the second partner of Evolve Bank & Trust named in a CFPB enforcement action this year.

Flagstar Bancorp settled allegations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission asserting the bank made materially misleading statements regarding a cybersecurity attack on its network in late 2021 in an event that became widely known as the “Citrix Breach.”

Federal regulators spend a large portion of the waning months of each year compiling reports on their activities and data collected pertaining to the industries they oversee and the state of their operations. In this regulatory roundup, you will find summaries of some of these reports that may hold details helpful to understanding the role they play in the housing and financial markets.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule adjusting the annual exemption threshold for requirements of the CFPB’s Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requirements under Regulation C.

Constructive Capital hired Megan Castleton to serve as chief credit officer for the wholesale capital provider for mortgage brokers and real estate investors. Castleton will be tasked with developing and implementing credit policies to ensure sound lending practices and drive technological innovation, according to a company press release.

NewDay USA CEO and founder Rob Posner was awarded the Georgia Military College (GMC) President's Leadership Award by the Georgia Military College, which honors individuals who embody purpose-driven leadership and make extraordinary contributions of time, talent, and treasure to support the Mission of Georgia Military College.