Cordray defended the role of the CFPB in his prepared remarks, given the current debate surrounding the Bureau. In his opening statement, Financial Services Committee Charmin Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) expressed surprise at Cordray’s appearance at the hearing, citing the president’s ability to remove the Director at will and reports that Cordray was to pursue an Ohio gubernatorial bid.

NAR’s 2016 Veterans and Active Military Home Buyers and Sellers Profile found that 18 percent of all recent homebuyers were veterans, and over half of those veterans used a VA loan to finance their home purchase. However, a number of roadblocks get in the way of appraisers giving veterans fair prices, such as compensation.

Household debt reached a peak of $12.7 trillion in Q3 2008. Following the peak, debt declined for several years until recently. The past three years have seen a gradual increase in debt, reaching $12.6 trillion by Q4 2016. Borrowers have shifted away from housing-related debt into student loan and auto debt.

The annual Five Star Government Forum will host leaders from both the mortgage servicing industry and the government to discuss policy and reform. Speakers and panel discussions will cover the economy and the future of the market.

This is Amherst’s second transaction with Altisource Residential. Amherst and Altisource Residential have agreed to transact on up to an additional 2,750 single family rental properties in 2017. Under the terms of the agreement, Altisource Residential has purchased a 100 percent equity interest in the portfolio, and Amherst sponsored entities are providing seller financing equal to 75 percent of the sale price.

On Monday at the National Low Income Housing Coalition conference in Washington, HUD Secretary Ben Carson stated that the Trump administration will include housing funding in the infrastructure bill. Carson defended the Trump administration’s $6 billion proposed budget cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, saying “no one is going to be thrown out on the street.”

On Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a brief defending the constitutionality of its single director structure, which has been called into question several times through the course of its ongoing case against PHH Corp. The brief, filed in advance of oral arguments, stated that the CFPB’s leadership model was not a violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers clause.

The Federal Reserve will release its February 2017 Consumer Credit survey. Previous studies have revealed that although ejection rates on credit applications declined, consumers still felt pessimistic. For example, February’s report revealed that consumers were 12.2 percent less likely to apply for a mortgage refinance than before.

A New York federal judge said that Wells Fargo must face litigation seeking to hold the bank accountable for billions of dollars in claimed investor losses as trustee of residential mortgage-backed securities, saying the investor funds more than met the pleading the standard. The plaintiffs, including BlackRock Inc, Pacific Investment Management Co, Prudential Financial Inc, and TIAA-CREF, can pursue breach of contract and conflict of interest claims related to 53 trusts, said U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

Several consumer rights groups, legal scholars, and members of Congress submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the case PHH Corporation v. CFPB, in support of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). With the CFPB’s constitutionality being called into question, many groups seek the defend the Bureau against a possible restructuring by the Trump administration.