Loan Think

Regulatory costs may be warranted, but neither Congress nor the executive branch assessed the cost of the Dodd-Frank Act before its enactment.

Even with Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House, it's highly unlikely the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be completely eliminated. However, under the new presidential administration's oversight, many of its more aggressive policies will likely change.

The president-elect faces major questions about credit access, affordable housing, the future of Dodd-Frank and the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the extent to which he will act upon them remains unclear.

The historic election has presented an opportunity for a comprehensive overhaul of the housing finance system after eight years of gridlock.

Lenders have the most consumer-facing role in the mortgage industry. By adopting three cultural adjustments, they can introduce more diversity into the workforce and create sustainable businesses and stronger communities.

The Federal Reserve has maintained historically low interest rates for too long, causing superficially high prices in housing and other assets. The outcome of the presidential election will likely decide whether the Fed maintains the status quo or embraces risk and raises rates.

The U.S. housing market is about 10 times larger than Canada's, but we can learn a few lessons from the country's cautious approach to its housing policy.

Lenders asking whether bank loans are safe are missing the point and should instead be more concerned with the standard they apply when underwriting them.

Condominium associations cannot afford to take on the potential legal risk that reporting delinquent borrowers to the credit bureaus would bring.

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. Unfortunately, it's taken years of widespread regulatory upheaval for mortgage servicing to find it necessary to start thinking about technology innovation.