BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined his colleagues in a letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Vice Chair Michael Barr, and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, expressing concerns over the impacts of proposed capital requirements for mortgage loans. The mortgage capital requirements in the Basel III Endgame proposal would increase borrowing costs and hinder families from achieving homeownership.
The senators called on regulators to adopt the Endgame mortgage capital requirements based on loan-to-value ratio, drop the 20% surcharge imposed by the proposal, restore appropriate credit for private mortgage insurance, and reconsider the impact of the operational risk component on mortgage securitization markets for agency and non-agency borrowers.
“The U.S. bank regulators played a central role in the development of these requirements through multiple administrations. The Endgame mortgage capital requirements appropriately provide a more granular treatment of mortgage credit risk exposures that are empirically derived and defensible, whereas, your proposal does the opposite,” the senators wrote.
The letter notes the proposal does not adopt the Endgame mortgage capital requirements, and instead contemplates adding a significant surcharge to these requirements.
“We strongly encourage you to carefully consider all of these recommendations, along with the various stakeholder comments you receive with an eye to maintaining a deep, liquid, and competitive market for mortgages, in which banks can prudently participate in helping American homeowners achieve the dream of sustainable homeownership,” the senators concluded.
The letter was led by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN). Additional cosigners include U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), JD Vance (R-OH), Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL), Michael Rounds (R-SD), and Mike Crapo (R-ID).
Click here to read the letter.