Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) sent a letter to the heads of the bank regulatory agencies asking them to address whether banks are inflating the value of 2nd mortgages on their balance sheets, thereby discouraging proactive efforts to modify and restructure mortgage loans and crippling programs designed… Read more »
Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today introduced new legislation to authorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through March 31, 2010. The current program is due to expire at the end of September 2009 unless Congress acts to extend it.
In addition, Waters and Frank announced… Read more »
Today, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) formally introduced President Obama’s plan to strengthen consumer protections as a part of a broader financial regulatory restructuring. H.R. 3126 would establish the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), a powerful independent agency with a range of rulemaking, information-gathering, supervisory,… Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) issued the following statement on the release of the Administration’s legislative proposal to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency:
“The Administration’s release of its recommended language is very welcome because it removes any obstacle to the House Financial Services Committee reporting out… Read more »
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will discuss the future of financial regulation at the National Press Club on Monday, July 27. In June, President Obama delivered to the country sweeping proposals to change financial regulatory system, and Chairman Frank’s committee will be largely responsible for enacting the President’s… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today announced the committee’s tentative schedule for the consideration of the Obama Administration’s plan for sweeping financial regulatory reform. Chairman Frank is also working to reschedule the postponed hearing with Secretary Geithner, and he noted that additional hearings and committee meetings will… Read more »
Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank released the following statement in response to a European Commission report released today that investigated U.S. internet gambling laws and their enforcement against European Union companies. The report concludes that the U.S. measures constitute an obstacle to trade that is inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. It… Read more »
Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Barney Frank (D-MA), and Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) today called on the Federal Reserve to strengthen its proposed regulation of bank overdraft fees by requiring banks to have consumers opt-in to overdraft programs and prohibiting the posting of transactions in a sequence which maximizes overdraft fees.
In a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Ben S.… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives passed historic legislation that will protect consumers from deceptive credit card practices and equip them with the information and rights they need to responsibly manage their credit. The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act passed by a vote of 361-64 and now goes to the President’s desk for his signature.
The legislation, sponsored by… Read more »
HOPE for Homeowners: The bill amends the HOPE for Homeowners Program, to (a) permit reduction of excessive fee levels, (b) provide greater incentives for mortgage servicers to engage in modifications under the Program, and (c) reduce administrative burdens to loan underwriters by making the requirements more consistent with standard FHA practices. Specifically, the bill would:
… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank today made the following statement in reaction to the front page story, “Lawmakers Plot Finance Shake-up,” in today’s Financial Times:
“Today’s story is a generally accurate picture of the current debate on creating a resolution authority, but the article misstates one point. While we are… Read more »
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced today the committee will hold a hearing entitled “Legislative Proposals to Improve the Efficiency and Oversight of Municipal Finance” on Thursday, May 21. The committee today also circulated draft legislation - none of which has been formally introduced - that witnesses will be asked… Read more »
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced today the committee will hold a hearing on Thursday, May 21, entitled “The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act.” The Honorable Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, will be testifying.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), chairwoman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and… Read more »
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) today made the following joint statement after receiving a letter by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on regulating over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives:
“We applaud the letter by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and we agree there must be strong,… Read more »
Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the need for more effective regulation of the credit rating agencies to increase transparency, improve accountability, and enhance investor confidence in our… Read more »
The following is an updated summary of H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, which the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved in April by a vote of 357 to 70. The Senate is considering a similar measure on the floor this week.
Summary of H.R. 627
Ends Unfair, Arbitrary Interest Rate Increases
Prevents card companies from unfairly increasing interest rates… Read more »
The House of Representatives today overwhelmingly approved legislation to curb abusive and predatory lending – a major factor in America’s highest home foreclosure rate in 25 years. H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009, will outlaw many of the egregious industry practices that marked the subprime lending boom. It represents a key step in the… Read more »
Today, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) unveiled legislation that would enable Americans to bet online and put an end to an inappropriate interference with their personal freedom.
H.R. 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act of 2009 would establish a federal regulatory and enforcement framework under which Internet gambling… Read more »
Today, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that would protect consumers from deceptive credit card practices and equip them with the information and rights they need to responsibly manage their credit. The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act passed by a vote of 357 to 70.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), represents an unprecedented… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank made the following statement today after Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann issued a news release touting an amendment she offered to the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009.
“I made a mistake yesterday in not objecting to the Bachmann amendment. I did not read it carefully, and it was in the last minute that… Read more »
The House Financial Services Committee today approved H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009, aimed at curbing abusive and predatory lending – a major factor in the nation’s highest home foreclosure rate in 25 years. The bill would outlaw many of the egregious industry practices that marked the subprime lending boom, and it would prevent… Read more »
The House Financial Services Committee today passed H.R. 1327, the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009, which would empower Americans to apply economic pressure on the Iranian regime.
The legislation enables state and local governments to divest their public pension funds from companies investing more than $20 million in Iran’s energy sector. It also removes legal barriers to… Read more »
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank today announced that the committee will continue the markup of H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, on Wednesday, April 29, at 10:00 a.m.
Chairman Frank Also announced votes in the committee will begin at 2:15 p.m. If votes on the floor occur at this time, then the votes in the committee will commence… Read more »
In an important shift in the World Bank’s approach to development, today the Bank announced the suspension of the controversial “Employing Worker” Indicator (EWI) and a commitment to reexamine and revise both the EWI and the “Paying Taxes” Indicator in its annual country-ranking exercise called Doing Business.
The World Bank’s… Read more »
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, today announced that the committee will meet on Tuesday, April 28, to consider the following measures:
H.R. 1327, Iran Sanctions Enabling Act;
H.R. 1728, Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.
WHO: … Read more »
