Loan Think

Efforts to repeal a Dodd-Frank mandate for lenders to report data on small-business applicants — including race and ethnicity — overlook the benefits of the provision to both communities of color and banks.

The U.S. population is aging, and one of the well-established components of the American dream — buying and owning a home — appears poised to aid in the baby boomers' next phase of life.

Policymakers should differentiate between housing finance-related issues of real importance to the greater public interest, and those that concern only special interests.

From the small lender’s perspective, most of the various GSE reform proposals that have been offered are designed to advance the interests of the big banks.

From the largest banks to the smallest independents, policymakers want to hear the mortgage industry speak with one voice in the critical efforts to reform the government-sponsored enterprises.

A key question for the future of housing finance is whether large and small lenders will both be able to compete, or will a new system favor Wall Street giants?

The Financial Choice Act contains many positive reforms for community banks, but a provision affording benefits for holding loans on balance sheet poses risk for small lenders.

As long as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac exist, they must have adequate capital so taxpayers will never again be compelled to help them meet their financial obligations.

There is a great opportunity this year to show the world that Congress can still pass bipartisan, common-sense legislation that helps lift the U.S. economy.

The expansion of the Federal Reserve’s portfolio of Treasury debt and mortgage-backed securities has a bigger impact on the credit markets than paying banks interest on excess reserves.