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Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr announced Tuesday significant alterations to banks’ capital requirements which will affect how they would handle low down payment mortgages under so-called Basel III “endgame” changes.

Basel III is an internationally agreed set of measures developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the financial crisis of 2007-09. The measures aim to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks.

In a statement released Tuesday, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) welcomed the revisions.

“The Federal Reserve’s revised Basel III proposal is a win for the housing market, REALTORS®, and consumers,” said NAR President Kevin Sears. “By making it easier for banks to support low down payment loans, these changes should ensure continued access to affordable home financing. The proposal laid out by the Federal Reserve also recognizes the strength of changes made more than a decade ago to regulation and oversight of the housing finance industry in the wake of the subprime crisis. We applaud the Fed for this thoughtful adjustment, which ultimately reflects a commitment to a healthy housing market and reinforces the stability we’ve worked hard to achieve.”

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