“The Treasury Department has provided a map that lays out many roads, some of which are well-worn and bad for consumers and taxpayers alike. But the road less traveled, the road to true bipartisan housing reform, is now apparent – and if we choose to take it, it will make all the difference.” -David M. Dworkin
“But fees paid by the companies would inevitably be absorbed into HUD’s budget rather than going directly to help low-income borrowers.” -David M. Dworkin
“A broad coalition of mortgage-industry groups and lenders is calling for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to remove the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio requirement from the ability-to-repay standard for qualified mortgages.”
“The most important thing the hearing accomplished is that it has reinvigorated the debate on housing finance reform after 11 years of conservatorship and established a path forward that requires both Congress and the administration to get right.” – David M. Dworkin
“Four of the largest mortgage lenders in the country are leading a coalition that is calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to make to changes to the Ability to Repay/Qualified Mortgage rule.”
“The housing goals language in the report is a non-starter that undercuts the value of everything else in the paper. And let’s be clear, there’s no getting around Congress on the housing. They are written into the law and the civil rights community and a broader group of housing experts, including the National Housing Conference and most of our members have made clear, we won’t accept any back-tracking on this critical element of the system.” – David M. Dworkin
“It’s really a road map to government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) reform rather than a blueprint. It includes a mix of ideological red meat for conservatives and practical suggestions and concessions to moderates and liberals. There are different paths you can take. I expect the strategy is to move forward incrementally with Congress as opposed to acting unilaterally, which the administration has enormous power to do.” -David M. Dworkin
“Both in the Obama administration and during periods of bipartisan negotiations the focus was on whiteboarding a totally new system. It is too hard. The current system is too embedded and the unintended consequences are too unpredictable.” – David M. Dworkin
“I think of this as a roadmap and not a blueprint, because there are a lot of paths they can take, but they pretty clearly signal the ones they like and the ones they’re giving lip service to. I expect them to move forward incrementally on the administrative reforms, so that Congress has time to make adjustments in the statute.” -David M. Dworkin
“Because so much of the affordable housing requirements are set in law, Congress is the only place you can make dramatic change and still be compliant with the law.” – David Dworkin
