Tag Archives: Regulation

While small bankers have expressed concerns that increased regulations may hurt profit margins and make them more susceptible to buyouts, data from a new FDIC study argues otherwise. The study looked at bank trends from 1985 to 2013, and found "the recent uptick in the rate of consolidation is attributable to factors that are likely to subside once the effects of the crisis are fully behind us."

In a testimony given in front of the House Financial Services Committee this week, OCC chief counsel Amy Friend addressed frustrations stemming from regulatory burdens on community banks banks. Friend's testimony offered a conciliatory nod to the plight of smaller banks while noting particular ways the OCC addresses smaller bank's particular grievances with the Dodd-Frank Act.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) released the results of its latest annual Real Estate Lending Survey. According to the ABA, more than 80 percent of bankers surveyed believe that tightened Dodd-Frank rules will restrict credit, thereby narrowing the pool of candidates able to secure mortgages. More than a third of bankers surveyed said they would only offer qualified mortgages.

An audit of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) operational efficiency found the agency is lacking when it comes to the execution of its supervisory activities. In a report, the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve System says CFPB could improve in three areas: reporting timelines, standard compliance rating definitions, and examination reporting policies.

According to results in Hammerhouse’s 4th Annual Survey of Originator Opinions, 44 percent of originators polled said the biggest challenge for the industry in 2014 will be "adding new relationships to support a purchase focused business" with purchase volumes still too weak to support the market. Given these obstacles and the continuing decline in mortgage volumes, 69 percent of originators expect overall volume to drop in 2014.

A new survey published through George Mason University's Mercatus Center finds bankers at smaller institutions are growing increasingly anxious about the roll-out of the Dodd-Frank Act and subsequent regulatory requirements. One anonymous banker objected to "the maddening pace of illogical and unnecessary regulation (that would not) have done anything to prevent the 2008 collapse."

Financial services solutions firm Wolters Kluwer Financial Services (WKFS) released Tuesday its second Regulatory & Risk Management Indicator for the U.S. banking industry, a metric of major concerns worrying banks and credit unions nationwide. According to the latest results, the January 2014 indicator registered 121, a jump up from the 2013 baseline score of 100.

A regulator who recently took actions to curb growth at Ocwen has now turned his eye to Nationstar. In a letter addressed to the company, Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of New York's Department of Financial Services, said his agency has concerns "that the explosive growth at Nationstart and other nonbank mortgage servicers may create capacity issues that put homeowners at risk."

Out of more than 900 respondents to Fiserv’s 2014 Boardroom Series Outlook Survey, 50 percent expressed “somewhat” or “very optimistic” expectations for economic growth this year, with another 42 percent expecting the year to follow more or less the same track as 2013. A combined 9 percent said they are “somewhat” or “very pessimistic.”

Regulators have recently moved to curb growth at non-bank servicers amid concerns about their practices—and that might actually be for the best, say analysts for Moody's Investors Service. At the same time, they worry that companies might attempt to offset any slowdown in growth by shifting business models and originating non-prime mortgages, “a net credit negative.”