President Barack Obama surprised the mortgage lending industry and friend and foe alike with a controversial decision to make a recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, even though Congress technically remains in session. Assuming the recess appointment of Cordray proceeds without a challenge (see related story on page 2), it’s now “game on” for the CFPB and the mortgage lending industry, according to Christopher Willis, a partner in the Atlanta office of the Ballard Spahr law firm. “Unless the appointment is successfully challenged, this move will open up a whole range of powers to the bureau, including the power to regulate non-bank players and the authority to act under the ‘unfair, deceptive or abusive’ provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act,” he said. “That sets the stage for whether someone wants to challenge that power.”
The creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund could grease the skids for an end to the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
News Tailored to Your Needs
Get Focused Coverage
Inside Mortgage Finance's newsletters break the mortgage market down so you get the news and data you need most, whether it's total industry coverage or just the news related to securitization, regulation, profits or other specific topics.