While President Obama’s re-election will likely thwart hopes of altering Dodd-Frank or the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), a more immediate concern is the possibility that the U.S. Treasury Dept. may have to bailout the Federal Housing Administration’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, according to nationalmortgagenews. A Romney administration would likely have tightened FHA’s credit standards and increased down payments for borrowers with low credit scores. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will probably not change much in the next four years; but the expected chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Jeb Snarling, (R-TX), wants to move Fannie and Freddie out of conservatorship and privatize them in five years. Mortgage bankers are hoping the administration will replace Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), with a permanent director who will write down the principal on underwater mortgages, thereby helping thousands of borrowers restructure their notes. MHProNews has learned, meanwhile, newly-elected Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the engineer of the CFPB and critic of mortgage brokers, will likely seek a seat on the Senate Finance Committee where she will block any legislation that might reduce the whammy of the CFPB.
