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TH E M R EP O RT | 59 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST GOVERNMENT Mulvaney: Don't Fund CFPB in Q2 The Acting Director asked for $0 in funding for Q2. I n his first request to the Federal Reserve for fund- ing, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Mick Mulvaney requested no funding for Q2. The Federal Reserve directly funds the consumer agency, with directors sending their requests for funding for the quarter. According to The New York Times, Mulvaney, in a letter to then-Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, said the bureau did not need any new funds to oper - ate during the second quarter. The bureau has on deposit $177.1 million to cover emergencies and contingencies, which Mulvaney said was too much. He intended to spend approximately $145 mil - lion from that contingency fund. Mulvaney argued those ad- ditional funds the Fed would have otherwise earmarked for the CFPB could be turned over to the Treasury Department to pay down government debt, the Times reported. According to political news website Politico, Former CFPB Director Richard Cordray had requested $217.1 million in the last quarter to fund the agency. Mulvaney said Cordray had maintained a reserve fund in case of overruns or emergencies, but he didn't see any reason for that since the Fed has always given the bureau the money it needed, the website said. This letter from Mulvaney comes on the heels of an an - nouncement by the agency that it was issuing a call for evidence to ensure the Bureau was fulfilling its proper and appropriate func - tions to best protect consumers. In the coming weeks, the CFPB will be publishing in the Federal Register a series of Requests for Information (RFIs) seeking com - ment on enforcement, supervision, rulemaking, market monitoring, and education activities. These RFIs will provide an opportunity for the public to submit feedback and suggest ways to improve outcomes for both consumers and covered entities. A Bump in Rates and Loan Sizes Mortgage Interest rates were up three basis points at the end of 2017, according to FHFA. M ortgage interest rates are on the rise, ac- cording to the latest report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and its Mortgage Interest Rate Survey (MIRS). The FHFA reports that interest rates in Decem - ber were at 4.08 percent, a 3 basis point increase from November's 4.05 percent, and 10 basis points higher than October's rate of 3.98 percent. The effective interest rate, which accounts for the addition of initial fees and charges over the life of the mortgage, also saw an increase by 3 basis points month over month, from 4.05 percent in November to 4.08 percent in December. In the FHFA's release, the agency states that while the The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index rose from 4.05 percent to 4.08 percent month-over month, the average interest rate on all loans rose 2 basis points, from 4.03 percent in November to 4.05 percent in December. For 30-year, fixed-rate mortgag - es of $424,100 or less, the average interest rate remained unchanged month-over-month, remaining at 4.17 percent in December from November. Also in December, the average loan amount went up by $13,300, from $307,800 in November to $321,100. Year-over-year, December saw an 8 basis point increase in inter - est rates, from 4.00 percent to 4.08 percent. Values from December's MIRS are based on 3,646 reported loans from 16 lenders who reported on terms and conditions of all loans closed during the last five working days of the month, and excludes mortgages guaranteed or insured by either the Federal Housing Administration or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The complete contract mortgage rate serie can be found on the FHFA website. $321,100 Average loan amount in December.