Senate Bill 3217 Restoring American Financial Stability is working its way through the Senate and is expected to be passed in the coming weeks.  Certain provisions of this bill will have a significant impact on the mortgage industry. As you may recall, the Senate Bill 3217, as originally proposed, included a provision which would have required 5% of the risk on all loans originated be retained by the originator upon sale to investors.  The provision was not clear as to which entity or entities in the origination chain would be required to retain the risk.  It was not clear whether the risk that was to be retained would be an ownership interest in the loan or reserves supported by cash.   It was also not clear how long the originator would have been required to retain the risk.  The original provisions would have been devastating to the mortgage industry.  The 5% risk retention would have forced many mortgage originators from the business and would have driven mortgage rates much higher.  After significant industry efforts, this provision was amended last week. The amendment, as passed by the Senate, does very little to answer these questions, but what it does do is exempt [...]