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Fannie Mae's August mortgage origination forecast predicts lower volume in 2025 and 2026 compared with July as the government-sponsored enterprise moved its rate expectations higher.It now expects total home sales to decline year-over-year. Fannie Mae is still looking for existing home sales to rise, but not by as much previously expected. The drop off in new home sales is deeper than in the July forecast.The forecast was compiled prior to the July housing starts release on Aug. 19 from the U.S. Census Bureau. The month had 1.428 million housing starts and 1.415 million completions.Housing starts were 5.2% above the revised June estimate and 12.9% over the July 2024 rate. But single-family starts were just 2.8% higher than the revised June data."Despite a modest uptick after four-month streak of declines, single-family permits — a leading indicator of future construction — remain near their lowest level since March 2023, signaling continued weakness in the sector," Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial, said in a commentary. "The housing market remains structurally undersupplied, and we need more hammers at work to build the homes that are still in short supply."What Fannie Mae predicts for home salesThose issues likely underpin the August Fannie Mae forecast for 4.74 million seasonally adjusted total home sales, down 0.1% from 2024.New home sales of 654,000 units on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, is 4.7% lower compared with last year.In the July forecast, Fannie Mae looked for 4.85 million SAAR total home sales this year, a 2.2% gain and 676,000 SAAR new home sales, a 1.5% decline from 2024.The home sales projection for next year is for 5.23 million SAAR units, compared with the previous forecast of 5.35 million.How mortgage rates will move through the end of 2026The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is now predicted to average 6.7% for the current quarter and 6.5% by the end of the year; the July forecast called for 6.5% and 6.4% respectively.In the first quarter of next year, the rate is expected to be 6.4% (compared with 6.2% in the July outlook) and fall to 6.1% by the fourth quarter (compared with 6%).Last Thursday's Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey found the 30-year FRM at 6.58%, the lowest since October. But based on movements in the 10-year Treasury in the interim, which closed on Monday 10 basis points higher than on Aug. 13, mortgage rates could pick back up.This year is now expected to end with $1.852 trillion of volume, of which $1.386 trillion is for home purchases and $466 billion consists of refinancings. In July, the forecast was for $1.921 trillion total volume, with $1.409 trillion of purchase loans and $511 billion refis.How Fannie Mae views economic growth going forwardAmong the other items Fannie Mae revised downward is gross domestic product. For this year's fourth quarter, the growth outlook now calls for a 1.1% increase, compared with 1.3% in the July forecast; for 2026, GDP is expected to end the year now at 2.2%, versus 2.3% one month ago.Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, will be hotter in 2025 than previously expected. Fannie Mae expects it to rise 3.3% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, up from 3% in the July forecast.But for 2026, its CPI outlook calls for 2.6%, down from 2.7%.

The Federal Reserve's top banking regulator is promoting a pro-technology approach, urging a shift away from what she called "an overly cautious mindset" toward banks adopting innovative tools such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.In a speech Tuesday, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said regulators must understand new products and services used in the financial sector, rather than focusing solely on the risks they pose."Bank regulators approach technology and periods of change with caution and skepticism, concerned about rapid growth, new business models, greater interconnectedness and interdependence, often focusing only on the risks," she said speaking at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium. "But risks may be offset or at least determined to be manageable when we recognize and consider the potentially extensive benefits of new technology."Bowman outlined several technological innovations gaining traction in the financial sector, including tokenization, blockchain and artificial intelligence. She warned that if regulators are not open-minded about technology adoption, "banks will play a diminished role in the financial system more broadly."Regarding tokenization, Bowman said she believes it is poised to expand access to capital markets and facilitate near real-time payments, while also lowering costs. She also mentioned that the GENIUS Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, has pushed stablecoins "to the forefront." Banking agencies, including the Fed, are currently creating a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency, she said."[Stablecoins] are now positioned to become a fixture in the financial system, with implications and opportunities for the traditional banking system, including the potential to disrupt traditional payment rails," Bowman noted.In reaction to changing attitudes to cryptocurrency, Bowman said Fed employees could benefit from "hold[ing] de minimus amount of crypto" to better understand how digital assets work."I certainly wouldn't trust someone to teach me to ski if they'd never put on skis, regardless of how many books and articles they have read," she said during her speech. "We should consider whether limits on staff investment activities may be a barrier to recruiting and retaining examiners with the necessary expertise and for existing staff to better understand the technology."The Fed governor urged regulators and the financial services industry to have ongoing conversations with one another regarding technology adoption."Banks should be encouraged to explore new technology, to engage in discussions with their regulators about how they can be deployed, and what reasonable supervisory expectations should apply," Bowman added. "In this context, a healthy dialogue and a commitment to learning ensures the bank and examiner relationship can be collaborative rather than antagonistic in tone."Bowman's commentary comes after the Federal Reserve Board announced the end of a program created in 2023 to supervise how banks use emerging technologies, along with the rollback of several policies related to crypto use.Its decision to end the Novel Activities Supervision Program, launched two years earlier primarily to monitor banks' crypto adoption, reflects the central bank's improved understanding of the use cases and risks associated with developing technologies, the Federal Reserve said previously."We stand at a crossroads: we can either seize the opportunity to shape the future or risk being left behind," Bowman said, closing out her speech Tuesday. "By embracing innovation with a principled approach, we can define the course of history and fulfill our responsibility to promote the safety and soundness of the banking system and financial stability."

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Bloomberg News WASHINGTON — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C. publicly acknowledged the role that the crypto industry had in unseating former chairman Sherrod Brown, a longtime banking progressive, from the Senate. Scott's comments, made at the Wyoming Blockchain Symposium just ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Summit, were a stunning acknowledgement of the role that crypto money has played in policymaking in Washington as Congress has made some of the most consequential laws regarding payments and banking since Dodd-Frank. Banks took some large losses in the stablecoin bill, and are currently pushing back against certain provisions in an upcoming market structure bill concerning how stablecoin issuers and special purpose depository institutions can take up traditional banking activities without the oversight that comes with being an actual bank. Kraken, one of the cosponsors of Tuesday's crypto symposium, has a Special Purpose Depository Institution affiliate headquartered in Wyoming."Thank you, to all of y'all, for getting rid of Sherrod Brown," Scott said to the audience. "Literally, the industry put Bernie Moreno in the Senate, and he's on the banking committee," Scott said later. Brown is Scott's predecessor as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Bernie Moreno, his opponent in Ohio, drew support from the crypto industry in part because of Brown's ability to hold up legislation that would be favorable to the industry in the Senate. Brown has already said he will run for the Senate again in 2026, this time seeking now-Vice President JD Vance's old Senate seat in the midterms, a special election that could decide control of the Senate but for a term that would last only two years. It's not clear if the crypto industry will ramp up their campaign spending against Brown again in the 2026 Ohio Senate race."Fire the legislators that are in your way," Scott said. "You guys did a really good job of that this last election cycle. You elected some Democrats who are good on the issues, you elected a lot of Republicans who are leading on the issue." He connected the election spending and the crypto industry's powerful role in 2024 races directly to the kind of bills that Scott has ushered through the banking committee. "That kind of agnostic approach to getting the job done is incredibly helpful," Scott said. "I would recommend you elect more Republicans and Democrats at the end of the day, getting people who care enough about the future and not just the present makes America the crypto capital of the world." 

Increasing loan balances, reduced head count and higher seasonal volume led nonbanks to report the highest loan production profits in years last quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The pre-tax net production profit of $950 per originated reversed a two-quarter slide into the red, with improvement surging from a loss of $28 per transaction three months earlier, MBA said in its quarterly mortgage bankers performance report. The report covers IMBs and home lending subsidiaries of chartered banks.  The latest positive number also increased by 37% from $693 in net income during the same quarter in 2024 and more than doubled last calendar year's average of $443. "IMB net production income reached its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2021," said Marina Walsh, CMB, MBA's vice president of industry analysis, in a press release. Viewed on a basis point level, second quarter pre-tax production profit came in at a gain of 25 bps per loan, compared to a loss of 7 bps over the first quarter. On a historical basis, though, the latest profit is still running below the post-2008 average of 40 bps. While current mortgage rate levels and a limited number of affordable homes in many markets still present ongoing challenges to lenders, MBA had previously estimated total production across the industry to finish close to $549 billion in the second quarter, well ahead of the $429 billion posted over the same three months of 2024. The traditional spring buying season, accompanied by periodic drops in mortgage rates that led to spikes in refinancing and ongoing home price growth, contributed to better bottom lines for production, Walsh said. "The seasonal pickup in purchase volume and the average number of production employees decreasing from last quarter, led to production costs dropping by more than $1,600 per loan. At the same time, average loan balances reached a study-high, resulting in an increase in gross production revenue," Walsh continued. Production revenue comprising fees, net secondary marketing income and warehouse spread rose to $12,551 per loan, up from $11,190 in the first quarter. Production employee headcount  per company narrowed to an average of 315 in the second quarter, a drop from 322 employees in the first three months of 2025. Meanwhile, the average loan balance for new first mortgages climbed 2.7% on a quarterly basis to $374,151 from $364,339. Taking into account all types of loans, including second mortgages and home equity liens, the average balance similarly increased 2.6% to $355,558, up from $346,714. The second-quarter turnaround also came off an average of $636 million in volume per lender, increasing from $488 million three months prior and $492 million a year ago. Production momentum buoyed the IMB segment, with four out of five companies reporting pre-tax second-quarter financial profit across their businesses after also factoring in servicing. The 80% majority increased from just 58% in the first quarter and nudged past 78% reported one year earlier. How servicing helped fuel profitsWhile production numbers outshined servicing performance, the latter also posted favorable net income growth last quarter, with an average of $30 per loan. The mean profit increased from first quarter's $22. Operating income, excluding amortization of mortgage servicing rights and gains or losses in  market valuations, remained unchanged on a quarterly basis at $90 per loan.How the largest lenders performedMBA's numbers also largely corresponded to positive trends seen in a separate report that exclusively looked at mortgage performance of 18 of the largest banks and publicly traded IMBs published by Boston Consulting Group. BCG found origination volumes up 35% on a quarterly basis and 24% higher year over year at the end of June. Among the nine companies reporting gain on sale numbers, five saw decreases with a median drop of 12 basis points compared to the previous quarter and 77 bps versus one year ago. The report noted nonbanks continue to gain origination and servicing market share versus their depository peers, with a boost in home equity lending. While growth trends remain on the upside, the companies "highlighted the rate dependent nature of the market anticipating slight origination growth under current rates while preparing for refinance opportunities once rates shift lower," BCG said.  

Lenders, homeowners and servicers are facing a massive wildfire risk in the Western U.S. that extends beyond the initial burn.Insurance woes, inflationary pressures and contractor shortages are weighing on affected mortgage holders, according to Cotality's 2025 Wildfire Risk Report. The assessment found nearly 2.6 million homes at moderate or greater risk of wildfire damage from California to South Dakota, for a combined reconstruction cost value of $1.3 trillion.  Homes with lower risks still face high or very high conflagration risk, which accounts for factors such as neighborhood density or proximity. That specific type of blaze is what devastated parts of Los Angeles in January, where the majority of affected dwellings in the Eaton Fire had a low-to-moderate wildfire hazard. "We're starting to see more of these wildfires turn into conflagrations, and it's something that industry-wide people are paying more attention to and need to pay more attention to," said Jamie Knippen, senior product manager at Cotality. Which housing markets have the most risks?Cotality assesses properties on its 1-to-100 wildfire risk score and defines "low-risk" as under 50, but the firm's real estate clients also make their own guidelines.  The real estate analytics provider weighs factors such as a property's adjacency to forested or undeveloped areas, the slope, vegetation, wind, and climate, such as drought or drier seasons.More dwellings are being built in the wildland-urban interface, and popular destinations California, Colorado and Texas have the most homes with a moderate-or-greater risk of wildfire damage. States like California enforce stricter building codes, but not all development is equal, Knippen explained. "In certain regions of the country, especially where we've seen historic wildfire activity, there has been redevelopment almost the same or potentially worse than what they were prior to that fire, making them more susceptible if another wildfire was going to occur," she said. The dangers to borrowers and buyersHome loan distress is an immediate symptom of wildfire devastation, as past-due payments climbed briefly in Los Angeles County in the month following the infernos in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades areas. Cotality estimated $40 billion plus in insured losses from the over 13,500 properties affected. Homeowners insurance is also a growing headache for borrowers, whether they've been directly affected by blazes or not. Fire victims in Los Angeles are still struggling to be made whole, while lawsuits and probes into claim denials have arisen regarding the larger insurance response.Borrowers are facing rising gaps in insurance-to-value, and soaring policy premiums are making it harder for first-time buyers to meet required debt-to-income ratios, Cotality said. Major carriers meanwhile are writing fewer policies in riskier zip codes, or are being subject to stricter requirements to deploy catastrophe models and price hikes. Lawmakers are coming to homeowners' aid, although it remains to be seen how those efforts will affect carrier behaviors. Beginning next summer, carriers in Colorado must disclose their wildfire scores and give discounts for homeowner migration. In California, legislators Monday also passed a bill to allow homeowners to receive interest on insurance payouts, funds which typically sit in a lender's escrow account during the process. That bill awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature.Seven months after the LA fires, just 212 building permits have been issued, according to a state tracker cited by Cotality. A multitude of factors has multiplied the cost of rebuilding, from elevated construction loan interest rates, to inflation on building materials, and a long-running skilled labor shortage made worse by recent immigration enforcement efforts. Those escalating costs have made thousands of homeowners unknowingly underinsured, the report said. "Unfortunately, what we know is that these events will likely continue to happen," said Knippen. "And it's important to understand what the risk is tied to a location to make any sort of decision surrounding that, whether that be risk management or on the mortgage side."

Blockchain-based credit company Figure Technology Solutions Inc. filed publicly for an initial public offering, joining the rush of crypto-related firms entering the market.The New York City-based company had net income of $29.1 million on revenue of $190.6 million for the six months ending June 30, compared with a net loss of $15.6 million on revenue of $156 million in the same period a year earlier, according to a filing Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.READ MORE: Figure confirms plans for IPO sometime in 2025Figure announced earlier this month that it had filed confidentially for an IPO. A 2021 venture-backed funding round valued the company at $3.2 billion.Figure was co-founded in 2018 by Mike Cagney, who was part of the team that started SoFi Techologies Inc. and stepped down as chief executive officer in 2018. The company develops blockchain technology to facilitate loans. Figure tapped Michael Tannenbaum as CEO in 2024. The firm started with home equity line of credit products, and additionally offers products including crypto-backed loans and a digital asset exchange, the filing shows. It has funded more than $16 billion in loans on the blockchain.Customers for partner-branded HELOC loans originated or purchased by Figure in 2024 had a weighted average FICO score of 753, versus a score of 740 for Figure-branded loans, the filing shows.READ MORE: Figure to recombine lending arm and marketplace into one entityIn artificial intelligence, Figure is using OpenAI Inc.'s technology to help evaluate loan applications, and a chatbot powered by Alphabet Inc.'s Google Gemini, the website shows.Investors in the company include Apollo Global Management Inc., 10T Holdings LLC and Ribbit Capital, according to the website. After the IPO, Cagney is expected to continue to control the majority of Figure's voting power, the filing shows.Figure's formal name prior to the closing of the IPO is FT Intermediate Inc., and expects to change its name to Figure Technology Solutions following the recombination.READ MORE: Tech providers zero in on home equity lendingGoldman Sachs Group Inc., Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are leading the IPO. The shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FIGR.

A pool of private student loans, provided to borrowers through the Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corp., will secure $160.9 million in revenue bonds through series 2025A and 2025B.All the senior notes are fixed, according to S&P Global Markets, with the two, taxable series A notes maturing on Dec. 1, 2035 and Dec. 1, 2045. The seven tax exempt notes, which are all rated AA, have expected final maturity dates ranging from Dec. 1, 2030 through Dec. 1, 2045.RBC Capital Markets is the lead underwriter, according to the rating agency.The bonds benefit from credit support ranging from 20.3%-21.4%, based on stressed, break-even cash flow scenarios, says S&P, which it says provides coverage of about 5.1x-5.5x of its expected net loss of approximately 3.9%.Initial senior and total bond parities amount to 127.9% and 119.0% respectively, the rating agency said. The reserve account equals 2.0%, or $11.2 million, of the transaction's initial bond balance at closing, and must remain at the 2.0% of the current bond balance.The reserve target will increase to 5.1%, if on Nov. 30, 2025 the cumulative amount of loans originated with amounts deposited to the acquisition account at closing is less than $13 million. That condition is only temporarily in place until Dec. 1, 2027, when it will return to 2.0%, S&P said.The Iowa Student Loan pool has a total current balance of $492.5 million, and $15 million in total accrued interest. The 28,207 loans represent 18,268, with an average balance per loan of $17,463, according to S&P.Most of the pool, 68.6%, is in the repayment phase, while 19.1% of the loans in the pool are in deferment. Slightly more than one third of the pool, 31.5%, is not in repayment, S&P said. After that, loans that have started repayment between 37 to 48 months account for 22.6% of the pool, the next largest group.

Among the nation's 50 largest metro areas, half, primarily in the north and east, had annual home price increases in July, while the others are reporting downturns, Zillow found.Nationwide, year-over-year home price appreciation was a meager 0.2%. While this helped to marginally improve affordability, with average monthly mortgage costs down $19 over the past year, it is still nearly $1,000 per month more than prior to the pandemic, Zillow calculated."Perhaps more than ever, whether it's a good time to buy depends on where you live," said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow, in a press release. "A defining trait of this market is that buyers are gaining leverage that most of them can't use, because cost barriers are too high."The typical home value is $367,695, with a typical mortgage payment at 80% loan-to-value ratio at $1,907. This compared with $367,369 in June.Which cities are good for home buyers?Out of the 50 markets ranked, only seven are considered favorable to buyers: Miami; Atlanta; Tampa, Florida; Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; Memphis, Tennessee; and New Orleans. Out of the top 50 metros, 27 are considered to be in the buyers' favor or neutral. This is up from 24 in June.San Francisco leads the five strong sellers' markets, followed by Providence, Rhode Island; Milwaukee; Hartford, Connecticut; and Buffalo, New York.Meanwhile, nationwide, sellers cut their prices on 27.4% of listings during July, which is the highest share since Zillow began tracking this metric in 2018. In June, the share was 26.5%.Reductions were more common in the South and Mountain states. But in the Northeast and on the West Coast, they were not as widespread, Zillow said.What was the increase in days from listing to sale?Homes which sold in July, did so in an average of 24 days in July, six days slower than in 2024, although just one day longer than prior to the pandemic.However, Zillow noted that the median lifespan of all listings on its site was 60 days for the month, four more than the pre-pandemic average; Zillow started collecting this data in 2018.A separate report from Redfin, put the time a typical home went from listing to contract as 43 days for July, up from 35 days one year earlier. It is the longest timespan for any July since 2015.Pending home sales fell 1.1% month-over-month to the lowest seasonally adjusted level since November 2023, Redfin said. Existing-home sales ticked down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million units, which it said was the lowest level in nearly a year."Supply is starting to fall because prospective sellers are choosing not to list after seeing their neighbor's home linger on the market or sell for below the asking price," said Redfin Senior Economist Asad Khan in a press release. "Some existing sellers are also pulling their homes off the market, opting instead to rent their house out or hold off on a move altogether — especially if they bought at the peak of the pandemic market and are worried about taking a loss."Redfin's data found median home sales prices increased 1.4% annually in July to $443,867; this is the highest dollar amount for the month on record. This was up from a 0.9% annual increase in June and 0.7% for May and a turnaround from shrinking prices at the start of the year.Home prices decline from June to JulyFirst American Data & Analytics' own Home Price Index for July found prices rose by 1.5% annually in July, the slowest pace since March 2012. Between June and July, prices were down by 0.2%; this followed a revised 0.2% decline between May and June."It's back to reality for national house price appreciation, as limited affordability, economic uncertainty and homeowners unwilling to enter the market and give up their low mortgage rates hinder demand amid a growing inventory of listings," said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, in a press release.Annual price growth slowed for the eighth straight month as the supply versus demand dynamic continued to shift, he continued.First American is seeing similar regional variations as Zillow is."Whether a market is gradually shifting towards a buyer's market or remains firmly in sellers' market territory depends on which side of the local supply demand tug-of-war is gaining momentum," Fleming added.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look like they would hold up better in a severe downturn today than their collective stress tests indicated in 2024.The tests modeled how they'd fare after absorbing losses like a total $36.1 billion provision in net chargeoffs plus foreclosed property expenses. That shows the credit losses they'd be likely to face is closer to the $35 billion calculated in 2023 than the $41.9 billion modeled in 2024.Even after certain other negative line items beyond credit losses such as mark-to-market adjustments for securities, this year's tests found that Fannie and Freddie combined would have $8.5 billion in total comprehensive income in a downturn, compared with the $4.2 billion in 2024.The tests did also note that the GSEs would face a $6.8 billion loss when an allowance for deferred tax assets (DTA) is included, but this also marked an improvement from a year ago. In 2024, the GSEs' stress tests modeled a combined comprehensive loss of $12.8 billion on this basis. The Dodd-Frank Act stress tests include figures that account for DTA allowances because a downturn like the one that forced Fannie and Freddie into conservatorship could impact the value of these future tax benefits. The GSEs have re-established solid profitability since then.Fannie and Freddie's results may draw added attention this year amid talk of potential reforms to both the GSEs and broader stress tests, with the Trump administration recently hinting it could pursue a public offering for the pair.What Fannie and Freddie's individual results look likeFannie Mae's total comprehensive numbers both with and without the DTA adjustment improved, but it's still recording a loss when the allowance is included that made the combined total for both GSEs in that category negative.With the allowance for DTAs, Fannie would incur a $7.2 billion accounting loss, according to this year's stress test. That number represents a reduced loss when compared with $15.6 billion in 2024.Fannie would generate a positive $4.3 million in TCI in a severe downturn without a deferred tax asset adjustment, according to the stress test results this year. In comparison, last year's stress test showed it would record a total comprehensive loss of $1.1 billion on this basis.Freddie's TCI has been positive the last two years with or without the deferred tax asset adjustment, but numbers for income were lower than they were in 2024.Total comprehensive income in a severe downturn was $4.2 billion with the allowance excluded or $400 million with the DTA adjustment. Those numbers were down from $5.3 billion and $2.8 billion a year ago, respectively.More details on other potential losses in a downturnBoth GSEs saw reductions in the percentage of their average portfolio balance credit losses would represent when calculated over a nine month planning horizon. Fannie's dropped to 0.35% from 0.49%, and Freddie's fell to 0.58% from 0.61%.In addition to credit provisions, the stress tests consider various losses on securities and derivatives that could occur in a downturn, which totaled $7.4 billion at Freddie and $5.5 billion at Fannie. These numbers were respectively $2.9 billion and $6.6 billion last year.These losses and other smaller ones, in addition to a tax adjustment, are subtracted from pre-provision net revenue to calculate the total comprehensive numbers.

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nominee for US President Donald Trump, speaks during a Senate Budget Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. The Senate Budget Committee will have to approve Vought's nomination before he receives a full Senate confirmation vote, after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-7 to advance Vought's nomination on Monday. Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergAl Drago/Bloomberg WASHINGTON — The Office of Management and Budget has apportioned a fraction of the money the Congress allotted to the Community Development Financial Institution Fund, documents show. OMB has allotted only $35 million under the Trump administration to the CDFI program, according to new apportionment documents. All of those funds have gone to cover administrative costs rather than awards from the program fund. That means that OMB has apportioned no discretionary awards to banks or other financial institutions for the fiscal year, which ends in a little over a month on Sept. 30. Funds for various CDFI programs are on a two-year cycle, so unlike many programs, the money doesn't expire at the end of the fiscal year.Still, the delay for the Bank Enterprise Award program and the other 10 programs under the CDFI Fund umbrella is unusual and problematic for the institutions that rely on those awards, and there's no sign that the program is going to be kicked back into gear. The Bank Enterprise Award Program, for example, has still has not received a notice of funding availability, a delay that could result in no awards this year, considering the long process of disbursing the funds. "All of this tells us what we already suspected, which is that OMB has not approved any apportionments for discretionary awards using funds provided in FY25," said a spokesperson for Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. Warner is the co-chair of the CDFI Caucus in Congress, alongside former Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. Crapo's office did not return a request for comment.The fate of the CDFI Fund has been uncertain since President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year that aimed to dismantle the program, which has generally enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress. The executive order demanded the dissolution of the program to the extent allowed by law. Although the Treasury Department has said that the entire CDFI Fund is statutorily mandated, that hasn't stopped OMB from withholding the funds. The OMB is led by director Russell Vought, who is also the acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and who was a leading proponent of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 governing blueprint. The CDFI case highlights a core constitutional conflict over Congress' power of the purse at play in Washington under the Trump administration. Vought and OMB have maintained that the administration can withhold money that Congress has appropriated, while lawmakers — even some Republican lawmakers like Crapo — have maintained that only Congress can decide what programs should be funded. "To date, the CDFI Fund has yet to announce and disburse awards for five programs within its portfolio even though application periods closed months ago," Crapo, Warner and a large group of bipartisan senators said in a letter to OMB last month. "Furthermore, other programs have yet to publish applications for the current fiscal year."OMB Director Vought has previously advocated for so-called "pocket recessions," a rarely used procedure that would allow the president to propose spending cuts late in the fiscal year when Congress has insufficient time to review them. Vought has said the administration intends to use such tools to achieve savings without legislative approval.