Asserting that it could negatively impact mortgage rates and credit availability, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) wrote to the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Joseph Otting, asking him how the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s current expected credit loss (CECL) standard will affect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  Luetkemeyer included several questions addressing his concerns about how implementation of the CECL standard will affect the government-sponsored enterprises’ capital reserves and lending abilities.

The midterm election results for North Carolina’s 9th District have become the center of controversy and speculation, exacerbated by a freshly passed state election law that has thrown in an added twist. In December, as the election results were in dispute, North Carolina passed a law stipulating that in the event of such a special election, either party would have the opportunity to hold a new primary.

Nearly every new technology innovation in the mortgage industry revolves around improving efficiency, which makes sense because efficiency and profitability tend to go hand-in-hand. However, efficiency means nothing if it comes without accuracy or compliance. Black Knight Inc. President of Origination Technologies Rich Gagliano and Pavaso, Inc. Chief Operating Officer Dan McGrew spoke with Dodd Frank Update about how innovations such as artificial intelligence (A.I.) and Blockchain can best be applied to help mortgage professionals check all of the aforementioned boxes throughout the course of doing business.  

A settlement nearly three years in the making orders Wendy’s to pay $50 million to reimburse financial institutions for expenses incurred after a cyberattack exposed customer information connected to approximately 18 million payment cards. The settlement stands apart from others involving data breach litigation pertaining to payment cards, according to the consent order filed in court. 

The Senate Banking Committee recently heard testimony from two nominees to join the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board of Directors – Rodney Hood and Todd Harper. Both expressed interest in aligning NCUA’s regulatory approach with that of other federal agencies. The committee also considered Trump’s nominees to become the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary of financial institutions and head up the Federal Housing Finance Agency during the hearing.

Cannabis-based businesses have cropped up throughout states where recreational marijuana is legal but the fact that it remains illegal at the federal level poses certain risks for the financial institutions that service them. Bank and credit union representatives recently testified before the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions in support of a measure proposing protections from those risks.

After conducting a comprehensive review of its security logs and alerts, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) found no evidence of information being compromised as a result of recent spear phishing attacks targeting Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) officers at credit unions. Reports of such attacks have come from other parts of the financial sector as well, NCUA noted in a blog post, encouraging all credit union staff to be wary of suspicious emails and that credit unions may report suspicious activity to the agency.

Something has been missing in some of the most recent settlements facilitated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that had been a mainstay of its consent orders under former Director Richard Cordray: restitution. That fact did not go unnoticed by the House Financial Services Committee and presented a timely opportunity for Dodd Frank Update to reach out to Goodwin Proctor Partner and former CFPB head of enforcement Anthony Alexis to get an insider’s take on the process of determining whether redress is warranted.

As consumer advocates condemn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposal to rescind ability-to-repay underwriting requirements from its payday lending rule, various banks and credit unions feel encouraged by what such an action would mean for certain payday alternative products they’ve worked to develop. CUNA Senior Director of Advocacy & Counsel Alexander Monterrubio spoke with Dodd Frank Update about how the proposed changes would benefit credit unions and other institutions offering forms of short-term financing covered by the rule as it stands.