Mortgage

The Senate passed the Republican-led tax and spending package, known as “One Big Beautiful Bill” by the narrowest of margins on July 1. Three Republicans broke party ranks to oppose the measure, resulting in a 50-50 split among voting members and Vice President J.D. Vance being called upon to cast the tie-breaking vote. Read on »

The real estate finance industry welcomed the news that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked lawmakers to strike “retaliatory tax measures” from the congressional budget package. Dodd Frank Update spoke with an expert from the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council about the effect such a tax would have on real estate investments. Read on »

The Federal Housing Finance Agency issued a directive requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop proposals for incorporating cryptocurrency into single-family mortgage loan risk assessments. The agency hopes this will help to promote sustainable homeownership. Read on »

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced the Federal Housing Administration will propose an across-the-board leveling of its Upfront Capitalized and Annual Mortgage Insurance Premiums to 25 basis points for all multifamily program categories as a step toward boosting affordable housing inventory. Read on »

The federal banking agencies published comprehensive data depicting communities presenting opportunities for covered institutions to receive Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance credit through outreach activities, as well as a list of banks recently evaluated for their efforts to fulfill their CRA obligations. Read about these reports and more in this regulatory roundup. Read on »

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced that his agency will be relocating from Washington, D.C., to the headquarters of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Alexandria, Va. Turner made the announcement during a press conference held at the current NSF headquarters on June 25. Read on »

The Mortgage Bankers Association found mortgage applicants’ payments increased in May, indicating a decline in homebuyer affordability as mortgage rates remained near 7 percent. Read on »

Legislation aimed at prohibiting the use of “trigger leads” involving the sale of consumer credit information to solicit lending services to homebuyers moved a step closer to becoming law after both the Senate and House passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act. Read on »

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to maintain the federal funds target rate at a range of 4-1/4 percent to 4-1/2 percent, citing a confluence of positive and negative economic indicators warranting a measured approach in the eyes of its members. The decision aligns with projections by mortgage industry leaders but elicited harsh criticism from President Donald Trump. Read on »

An Illinois federal judge denied a motion filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Chicago mortgage broker Townstone Financial to vacate the settlement the two parties reached to resolve allegations of redlining against Townstone. One of the attorneys representing Townstone spoke to RESPA News, a sister publication to Dodd Frank Update, about the decision. Read on »