Mortgage Law Blog, LLC

Mortgage Law Blog previously posted news of Senator Chris Dodd’s withdrawal from the campaign for Democratic Presidential nominee following a less than hoped-for showing in Iowa.  Chairman Dodd’s withdrawal naturally leaves more time to focus on housing issues as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.  The earlier posting notes certain priorities established by the Chairman, which of course will now have to take into account the proposed agreement on an economic stimulus.

Representative Barney Frank also has outlined the 2008 Agenda for the House Financial Services Committee.  The Texas Bankers Association summarized Chairman Frank’s remarks, which included the following housing specific comments:  

REP. FRANK OUTLINES 2008 AGENDA
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Frank held a press conference [on January 24] to outline his Committee’s agenda for the year. The agenda focuses primarily on housing and lending issues, as well as continued examination of the credit card industry and ABA-supported reform of suspicious activity reporting.

In the area of housing, Chairman Frank said the economic stimulus package will include the entire ABA-supported bill to reform regulation of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – except for the bill’s affordable housing fund – with FHA conforming loan levels at 125 percent of the area median or up to $730,000. The stimulus bill also will include a 12-month increase in the conforming loan limit for the government-sponsored enterprises, he said.

To address subprime lending, Chairman Frank said he will hold several hearings to examine whether “regulation has kept up with innovation,” particularly regarding securitization. In addition, he stated that his staff is working with Senate Banking Committee staff on a foreclosure package that would incorporate Chairman Dodd’s recent proposal to create a corporation to buy distressed mortgages and Chairman Frank’s own proposal for the new entity to buy foreclosed properties.

The coming months may prove to be fairly exacting for the mortgage banking industry.

Tags: Consumer Protection, Economic Stimulus, Industry Involvement, Legislation //