House and Senate Reach Compromise on 21st Century Road to Housing Act

The House and Senate announced a compromise this week on the 21st Century Road to Housing Act. Lawmakers settled on 45 provisions spanning 381 pages that address mortgage lending rules and community bank oversight. Rep.

French Hill, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said the final text includes a three-year sunset on the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program and nine community banking bills. He also noted the bill adopts House language that limits institutional investors from outcompeting American families in the housing market.

Nine of the 12 House banking provisions made it into the legislation.

The Senate excluded three measures, one that would have cut the Federal Reserve banks’ surplus fund cap by $115 million and two that would have altered how the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. handles failing banks, including changes to the “least-cost” rule and exceptions to concentration limits. 47 percent, according to Freddie Mac.

Com reported the timing of the rate drop alongside the legislative agreement. Data from the Financial Stability Oversight Council show banks originated 60 percent of mortgages and serviced 95 percent of mortgage balances in 2008. By 2023 those shares had fallen to 35 percent and 45 percent, respectively.

Com, said smaller banks lack the compliance staff and technology scale of larger institutions. He added that nonbank lenders have expanded access to borrowers with thinner credit files and enabled fully online application processes. Dennis Shea, chair of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s J.

Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy, said the rules could increase construction lending and mortgage activity by community banks. Several sections address reserve requirements, the treatment of brokered deposits, and the frequency of regulatory examinations for well-run credit unions.