With spring in full bloom, two things are on the minds of many financial services advocates – mortgage applications and budget reconciliation.
The nation’s largest mortgage trade group offered its most recent take on how economic conditions are impacting home purchases while community bankers and credit unions are focused intently on the budget reconciliation process in Congress.
Find further details about these developments and more in this roundup:
MBA notes drop in mortgage applications despite spring homebuying season
Mortgage applications decreased 4.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 25. MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan attributed the dip in purchase applications to “broader economic uncertainty and signs of labor market weakness” in a statement accompanying the survey results. He further pointed out that “even with the spring homebuying season underway” there were notable drops in conventional (6 percent) and VA (4 percent) purchase applications while FHA applications saw only a slight decline. Meanwhile, the Refinance Index dropped 4 percent from the week before and was 42 percent higher than the same week one year prior. These drops have occurred as mortgage rates have remained relatively steady just below 7 percent. Read more about the survey results here.
Community bankers advocate for bill banning trigger leads, reduced compliance costs
A representative from the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) testified before members of the House Financial Services Committee’s subcommittee on financial institutions about perceived regulatory overreach with respect to the banking industry. J. Michael Radcliffe, chairman and CEO of Community Financial Services Bank in Benton, Ky., testified regarding the impact of rising compliance costs on community bank competition. He argued the result has been an increase in industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, leading to a reduction in financial diversity and reduced access to banking services in rural and underserved areas. Read more here.
Credit unions push for Congress to protect tax-exempt status, support CFPB proposals
America’s Credit Unions (ACU) continued its advocacy to preserve the federal tax exemption for credit unions as Congress proceeds with its reconciliation process for the national budget. The trade group’s president and CEO, Jim Nussle, wrote to lawmakers ahead of a recent markup of the budget resolution to address recent criticism of credit union growth, asserting “the fact is that the entire industry remains under 10 percent of total depository institution assets, just as it has for its entire history.” Nussle also noted the ACU’s support for reducing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) maximum fund draw from the Federal Reserve from 12 percent to 5 percent. They also support a resolution to force the CFPB to return to the U.S. Treasury’s general fund any civil penalties remaining in its Civil Penalty Fund that remain after payment to direct victims. Learn more here.
ICBA encourages ‘grassroots’ action to press Congress to enact trigger lead ban
The ICBA stressed the importance of passing legislation to prohibit the use of trigger leads in the mortgage market in a message to its members. The organization urged community bankers to use its “Be Heard Grassroots Action Center” to encourage their members of Congress to co-sponsor H.R. 2808 and S. 1467, the “Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act,” sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Reps. John Rose (R-Tenn.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.). Community bankers and mortgage industry advocates have long noted their support for banning the use of trigger leads and reiterated that support when the aforementioned bills were reintroduced this year.