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'The assault here is on due process': Comments of the Week

ByRob Blackwell
September 12, 2019 9:30 PM

Readers react to the Trump administration's release of a housing finance reform plan, a proposal by HUD to redefine "disparate impact" and a challenger bank's claim that it can end bank fees for good.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, speaks during a news conference at the Group of Seven (G-7) finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Chantilly, France, on Thursday, July 18, 2019. Global finance chiefs found common ground in their fear of Facebook Inc.’s Libra initiative as they met to discuss more contentious issues from digital taxation to the economic outlook. Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
On the Trump administration's blueprint for reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

"With a few exceptions, this seems to be more a rehash of ideas and options than a road map."

Related: Cheat sheet: Trump administration’s road map for GSE overhaul
Fannie Mae's headquarters
More debate on the Trump administration's housing finance reform plan:

"A historical piece that looks to focus all the GSE’s back to their intended purpose. I hope there are 'no sudden movements.' I agree FHA and the Enterprises should have less overlap. It also seems like government backed equity stripping cash out refi days are numbered. What happens when they start asking multifamily loans to amortize again?"

Related: Cheat sheet: Trump administration’s road map for GSE overhaul
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Images by Cayce Clifford
Cayce Clifford/Cayce Clifford
On challenger banks offering fee-busting features to their apps:

"I've said it before — when is one of these challenger banks going to have to prove they can turn a profit? I'll tell you what doesn't make mathematical sense - free accounts, free overdrafts and free short term loans when you hit $10B in assets. At some point you can't continue to fund growth with VC — then what will you do?"

Related: Challenger banks apply pressure with fee cuts
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zapp2photo - Fotolia
On the argument that traditional banks are in danger of going extinct:

"The author misses a few other things that banks tend to do well — and that the over-hyped blockchain doesn't — including assessing and taking credit and interest rate risk. He also incorrectly states that banks make money from high interest rates. They make money from a positively sloped yield curve."

Related: Traditional banks continue to flirt with obsolescence
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Signage stands outside the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photographer:
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Reaction to an op-ed that argued a proposal by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to change how it defines unintentional discrimination is an assault on fair lending:

"Reining in disparate impact is not a rollback of progress. That 'progress' was simply bankers not pushing back on a constitutionally flawed concept out of fear of being called racist ... The assault here is on due process, using flawed comparators to support an allegation."

Related: HUD’s assault on fair lending
HUD Secretary Ben Carson
Ben Carson, secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), speaks during the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. The summit is dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment in the United States. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
More reaction to the op-ed on disparate impact:

"Every family needs shelter and the ideal would be to live in thriving communities free of discrimination but since we live in a flawed world with flawed people, having this for 100% of the people is not plausible. Home ownership is not for everyone nor should it be expected."

Related: HUD’s assault on fair lending
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More blowback on concerns HUD is gutting fair-lending enforcement:

"The author obviously has never experienced a fair lending exam. If there's been any rollback, no one has told the bank examiners."

Related: HUD’s assault on fair lending
federal-reserve
In a string of enforcement actions issued Thursday, the Federal Reserve barred one former banker from the industry for misappropriating confidential supervisory information and fined three others for misappropriating internal bank records.
On a Fed proposal to establish risk-based capital standards for insurance companies supervised by the central bank:

"Seems to me one would require integrated scenario analysis of the entire balance sheet. In theory, the diversification effect of the insurance portfolio should offset some of the balance sheet risk of the bank and vice versa. Could this result in reduced reserves?"

Related: Fed proposes capital requirements for insurance units
Rob Blackwell
Chief Content Officer, IntraFi Network
Fintech Fintech regulations Racial bias GSE reform Housing finance reform FHA Treasury Department
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