Tag Archives: Politics

With the election driving much examination of how residents of Blue and Red states tend to differ, here's how the political divide is impacting something unexpected: home improvement trends.

A long-standing member of the mortgage industry could be making the jump into politics if all goes according to plan. Kevin Stitt, Founder of CEO of Gateway Mortgage Group, which was founded in 2000, spoke of his intention to run for the Governorship of Oklahoma in 2018.

U.S. Representative Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), along with U.S. Representative Tim Walz (D-Minnesota), re-introduced the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2015, a bill that would create the position of an independent Inspector General for CFPB.

Included in the president's newest budget is $49.3 billion set aside for HUD, a $4 billion increase over last year. In a call with reporters, HUD Deputy Secretary Nani Coloretti explained that much of the budget will be used to undo some of the cuts made as the department experienced budget restraints as a result of sequestration.

During his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama did not make any substantial announcements regarding the housing market, government mortgage-backed securities, or the GSEs. However, "lower mortgage premiums" were mentioned, alongside "child care and sick leave and equal pay" as "ideas [that] will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of families."

Citing concerns about the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) low capital reserve ratio and its 2013 bailout, senators Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) and David Vitter (R-Louisiana) are calling on the Obama administration to reconsider its plan to cut FHA's annual mortgage insurance premium by half a percentage point.

In a widely anticipated move, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) was elected Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for the 114th Congress, according to an announcement from Shelby's website Thursday.

The letter, co-authored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Mark Kirk (R-Illinois), states that "(t)he proposed rule affects long-standing membership rules for the Federal Home Loan Bank system and will negatively affect new and current members in the system." Twenty-five other senators signed the letter.

U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-California), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, has issued a statement calling the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)'s announcement that the Agency will divert GSE money to the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund "outrageous."

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment came in at a preliminary index reading of 93.8 for December, up from November's final reading of 88.8. December's report beat economists' forecasts by more than four points and puts the index at its highest level since January 2007.