Regulatory

Updated list of Bill Pulte’s actions that impact FHFA, GSEs

Below is a timeline of the actions or reports related to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte that have impacted the regulator or the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since Pulte was announced as President Donald Trump’s nominee for the role in January and took office in March. January/February Trump […]

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How Bill Pulte has reshaped FHFA and the GSEs

A key decision maker in the federal housing apparatus, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) oversees the regulator of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) and the Federal Home Loan Banks. But Bill Pulte has been anything but a conventional FHFA director (pardon the term, since we’re not talking about conforming loan limits just

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HUD OIG reveals ongoing reverse mortgage oversight priority

In compliance with a 1978 law that requires government agency watchdogs to provide semi-annual reports on their activities, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published its report on Tuesday. While there were no new indications of scrutiny for the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, the

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Whiplash: As second court orders halt to tariffs, appeals court keeps them in place

Following a late Wednesday night decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade to halt President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on trade partners, a second federal court issued a similar decision in which it ruled that the invocation of a 1977 law does not give the president unilateral authority to impose such levies. But a

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Trump to Powell: It’s a ‘mistake’ to not lower interest rates

President Donald Trump met Thursday with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the White House to discuss economic developments, as Trump continues to press the Fed to lower interest rates. During the meeting, Trump told Powell he’s making “a mistake” by not lowering interest rates, the White House said Thursday. The meeting was at Trump’s

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Federal Court blocks Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs

A federal trade court has blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose broad tariffs under emergency powers — ruling the move exceeded the authority granted to the president by the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade issued the decision Wednesday, siding with plaintiffs who

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CHLA offers support for Pulte’s position on FICO pricing

After a statement made last week in condemning the credit-score pricing practices of Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte is now being complimented for his position by the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA). CHLA on Tuesday sent a letter to Pulte, saying that FICO “has a clear monopoly

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What implicit guarantee means for rates on GSEs’ release

Will mortgage rates go higher if the government takes the GSEs out of conservatorship? Many people would say yes if there were no government backing of these two giants, but on Tuesday evening the calculus changed. In a social media post on Tuesday, President Trump expressed his intention to transition the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) out

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Trump: I’m taking Fannie and Freddie ‘public’ with implicit guarantee

President Trump last week promised a quick answer on whether to remove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship. And it appears he’s already reached a decision: it’s time to take them ‘public.’ In a post published on Truth Social Tuesday night, Trump wrote: Our great Mortgage Agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, provide

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California revokes City of Fresno’s ‘pro-housing’ designation

In a move seen as a blow to the city’s plans to develop affordable housing, the mayor of Fresno, California, announced during a city council meeting that the city has lost a pro-housing designation from the state due to perceived failures in expanding its affordable housing stock. In April 2023, Fresno was announced as one

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