Regulators Propose Tough New Down Payments for Home Loans

Having failed to head off a catastrophic rise in reckless mortgages during the housing bubble, federal regulators released a proposal yesterday that could make mortgages more expensive if the borrowers do not put at least 20 percent down- and even bigger down payments if people are refinancing, CongressDaily reported yesterday. The proposed rules would also lean against adjustable-rate loans and set much tougher income requirements for borrowers. The proposal, which is more than 300-pages long and asks for public comment on scores of unresolved questions, was drafted jointly by about a half-dozen federal banking and financial regulatory agencies.