InvestmentsMortgageRegulatoryServicing

Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: Trump targets CFPB funding for greater control

Is his election slowing down affordable housing? California thinks so

Monday morning cup of coffee take a look at the news across the HousingWire weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues.

President Donald Trump may not be attending the correspondents’ dinner, but he’s still putting in his presidential duties this weekend.

Top of the list, for HousingWire readers, is Trump’s proposed budget plans to change the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

According to Joe Light in Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, will not be touched, but tax reform is imminent.

Additionally, concerning the CFPB, funding for the regulatory entity would no longer come from the Federal Reserve.

This would provide something Republicans long looked for; greater control of the CFPB.

From the article:

Mnuchin also said the Trump administration is looking at a proposal from Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas, to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to supervise financial firms.

The administration is “absolutely on board with” changing CFPB’s current funding process through the Federal Reserve to one of Congressional appropriations, Mnuchin said. Such a move would give Congress more control over the agency, which was formed in 2011 as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms enacted after the 2007-08 financial crisis.

And speaking of big night galas, shout out to last night's Oscar's host Jimmy Kimmel for working Dr. Ben Carson into a HUD joke, a first for the Academy?

And here's Kimmel's HUD joke:

Of course, the Treasury Secretary was no doubt watching the awards, considering he produced at least one of the nominees, by my count.

How big is the average homeowner's mortgage? Getting big, as household debt continues to reach new highs.

The big gainer is student loans, but according to Jordan Wathen of the Motley Fool, that pales in comparision to America's total investment in their homes.

However, the declaration that mortgage debt is way higher than student loans and/or credit card debt is frankly disingenuous from a financial affairs standpoint.

For one, the comparison of secured debt to unsecured debt is quizzical; pretty glad Americans don't have $10 trillion dollars in unpaid credit card balances.

But there are some great steps on how much each American spends on their mortgage that makes the article worth a read.

Going back to budgets, this weekend saw more than one report concerning spending on affordable housing. But only one really stands out, and that comes from the Golden State.

Out in California, Trump's election seems to put a halt to some initiatives.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

After election day, affordable housing projects across the state immediately saw multimillion-dollar budget gaps and future dollars are now at risk. The tax credit program is the largest source for funding for low-income housing in California, and the market downturn could mean a reduction in state low-income housing funding by $250 million this year,  said Matt Schwartz, president and chief executive of California Housing Partnership, a nonprofit advocate for low-income housing.

As a result, housing agencies are struggling to make up the shortfall, according to Liam Dillon's coverage.

As for the rest of the week ahead, there is some global economics news worth noting, per the Wall Street Journal.

Will the Fed raise rates again in March? All eyes are on this one event on Friday to try to get an early indication.

Of course, readers of HousingWire will get any news, as it happens, to you when you need it.

Have a good week, everyone!

Most Popular Articles

3d rendering of a row of luxury townhouses along a street

Log In

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account? Please