Article: USMI Calls for Changes to Proposed Bank Capital Rule

January 26, 2024


An Inside Mortgage Finance article from January 26 titled, “USMI Calls for Changes to Proposed Bank Capital Rule,” highlighted USMI’s comment letter on the Basel III Endgame proposed rule. The article notes how USMI believes the proposed rule will have negative unintended consequences that would “hurt first-time, low- and moderate-income and minority homebuyers.”

The article continues by quoting USMI’s comment letter directly noting how “[t]he proposed capital treatment for mortgage loans is excessive and fails to provide data used to justify the higher capital requirements and the departure from the current treatment of mortgages.”

The article closes by reiterating USMI’s comments on the proposed rule’s risk to housing affordability, “’[i]t is not merely banks that will feel the impact of Basel III Endgame changes, but the whole of the housing market that is already battling unaffordability due to ongoing lack of supply and elevated interest rates, among other headwinds,’ USMI said. ‘The consequences of the Basel proposal will only add to the costly barriers that drive first-time homebuyers out of the market,’ the trade group warned.”

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