On Our Radar

Politico, April 11, 2022, Biden’s new favorite to be Fed bank cop Former Treasury Department official Michael Barr has emerged as the frontrunner for the top job overseeing banks at the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the matter, after President Joe Biden’s last pick faced opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). Barr, now […]

CNBC, April 11, 2022, Biden administration will give millions of student loan borrowers in default a fresh start — here’s what you need to know The U.S. Department of Education says it will move to pull millions of loan borrowers out of default and mark their accounts as current. The country’s outstanding education debt balance

The Washington Post, April 12, 2022, Prices climbed 8.5% in March compared to last year amid growing fears of economic slowdown The White House and Federal Reserve have launched several initiatives to try and corral inflation, but the spike in prices on gasoline, food, and a range of other products continues to weigh on millions

The Root, April 11, 2022, Biden Administration Appoints ‘Racial Equity Czar’ to Join HUD The Biden Administration has quietly tapped a ‘racial equity czar’ to work in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, charged with carrying out the agenda laid out in one of President Joe Biden’s first executive orders. Adjoa B. Asamoah is

CNN Business, April 11, 2022, Banks say they’re getting tough on coal, but they keep lending trillions to polluters The biggest lenders to coal, the study found, include Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group, Barclays, Citi, and JPMorgan Chase. All four banks are members of the UN Net Zero Banking Alliance and have committed to aligning their

The Wall Street Journal, April 10, 2022, Recession Risk Is Rising, Economists Say Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this month on average put the probability of the economy being in recession sometime in the next 12 months at 28%, up from 18% in January and just 13% a year ago. “Risk of a

Seeking Alpha, April 8, 2022, FHFA Is Working With Fannie/Freddie To Help End Conservatorships The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was created by law in 2008 to oversee and regulate Fannie Mae (OTCQB:FNMA) and Freddie Mac (OTCQB:FMCC). FHFA immediately placed them into conservatorship and they’ve been there ever since. From 2008-2010, FHFA used its discretionary

Los Angeles Times, March 25, 2022, Black Tesla employees describe a culture of racism: ‘I was at my breaking point’ In interviews with The Times, three Black former employees described how jobs at the pioneering automaker devolved into personal nightmares due to a pattern of rampant racism and harassment at Tesla’s Fremont, Calif., factory. Their

American Banker, April 8, 2022, Credit unions’ tax-subsidized bank purchases harm consumers While credit union lobbyists plead innocence due to branch closures—most of which, by the way, are occurring at the largest banks—credit unions are in fact exacerbating consolidation among locally based community banks. The ugly truth is that this phenomenon involves larger credit unions

NPR, April 8, 2022, Mortgage rates just hit 5%. Here’s how much more expensive that makes home ownership “It’s pretty insane,” says Nick Cacciatore, who’s looking to buy a house in Tampa, Fla. “It’s very demoralizing.” Back when Cacciatore was looking last summer, mortgage rates were under 3%. This week they’ve risen to over 5%.

MarketWatch, April 6, 2022, Disney’s latest Florida attraction: Affordable housing Walt Disney World is setting aside roughly 80 acres on its property for a new affordable-housing development. The resort expects that the development will include more than 1,300 housing units, and it will be constructed by a third-party developer.

American Banker, April 5, 2022, Banks change their tack in navigating the culture war  After years of mounting concern over the politicization of American finance, the banking industry appears to be making a quiet retreat from the culture war trenches. Not historically known for their social activism, prominent bankers had grown more comfortable taking political

American Banker, April 4, 2022, Federal Home Loan banks’ purpose called into question as advances drop As banks rack up record levels of deposits, the Federal Home Loan banks’ core business of providing liquidity to member institutions is drying up, leading some critics to question the institutions’ long-term viability. The lifeblood of the Home Loan

The Charlotte Observer, April 4, 2022, Fannie Mae picks Charlotte for new program expanding housing access Charlotte is one of three cities chosen by Fannie Mae for a new program to increase voucher acceptance in rental housing, the government-backed mortgage institution announced Monday. Fannie Mae will offer lower loan financing costs to owners of apartment buildings if

Washington Examiner, April 3, 2022, Banks brace for CFPB to take aim at credit card late fees Banks expect the federal government to crack down on credit card late fees following a highly critical report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighting the effects of the penalties on households. The report, published this past week, emphasized that the $12 billion in