House Passes Bill to Ease Banking Regulations

The House yesterday passed legislation that would address challenging credit conditions that home builders and home buyers continue to experience as a result of strict regulatory restraints imposed following the 2008 financial crisis.

H.R. 10, the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, addresses regulatory concerns for community banks, which are the most common source of lending for home construction and key providers of home mortgage loans for first-time buyers and consumers in rural communities.

NAHB supports many of the reforms contained in this legislation, including:

• Prudent modifications to the qualified mortgage rule that will improve credit availability for home buyers and support the business model of community bankers.
• Congressional approval for major financial regulations before they are implemented.
• Mandating that all financial regulators conduct a meaningful cost-benefit analysis before issuing rules.
• Ending judicial deference to regulatory agency interpretations.

The bill will now go to the Senate and faces an uncertain future. NAHB will continue to actively push for these and other strong regulatory relief measures at the congressional and federal agency level.

For more information, contact Scott Meyer at 800-368-5242 x8144.

This article was provided by the NAHB’s blog, NAHB Now.