Patrick M. Brenner

Public pensions and university endowments routinely put 20 to 30 percent of their portfolios in private markets. Most 401(k) savers get public stocks, bonds and target-date funds, because sponsors fear the lawsuit. From February, still true: southwestpolicy.com/national…

jane kim, who declared victory in california's insurance commissioner race, said she doesn't "buy the narrative" that raising rates is the only way to keep insurers there. a price insurers can't charge is a policy they won't write. calmatters.org/politics/2026…

From February: lenders pull all three credit reports because credit data is scattered. Research cited in Newsmax found dropping one can move a score as much as 45 points. A cheaper check that misprices the loan is "a talking point with a delayed bill." southwestpolicy.com/weakenin…

Massachusetts's new rule on shared appreciation mortgages for owners 90+ days behind sets no cap. It requires the maximum payment in dollars and the effective rate up front. NCLC wants caps. Disclosure lets a borrower decide; a cap can mean no deal. housingwire.com/articles/mas…

Bellingham voters are approving a ban on rent-pricing software by a wide margin, My Bellingham Now reports. It won't add one apartment. Landlords agreeing on rents was already illegal under antitrust law. What lowers rents is more homes. mybellinghamnow.com/news/297…

From February, still true: a Federal Reserve study found card rewards redistribute wealth, "but not along income lines." The transfer runs from less savvy cardholders to savvier ones. Cutting the swipe fees that pay for rewards shrinks them for both. southwestpolicy.com/the-wash…

the labor department's final 401(k) rule went to the white house thursday: a process-based safe harbor for choosing plan investments, alternatives included. judge fiduciaries on how they decided, not on hindsight in a complaint. 401kspecialistmag.com/dols-f…

Card networks don't split out the sales tax or the tip when they approve a purchase. That's why Illinois's ban on swipe fees for those portions works like a ban on the whole fee. Lawmakers voted to push its start to July 1, 2027. From May: southwestpolicy.com/dc-journ…

San Pablo's rent control measure leads with more than 59% yes in early returns. Increases capped at 3% or 60% of inflation, whichever is lower. A cap set below inflation is a promise that the real rent falls every year. Upkeep will follow it down. kqed.org/news/12108346/rent-…

From August: a borrower with $34,000 in unsecured debt would repay $40,000 through nonprofit credit counseling and $28,500 through debt settlement. A House draft adds disclosure rules for settlement and exempts counseling. Fair rules. Apply them to both. americanbanker.com/opinion/i…

Massachusetts Question 7 trails by about 29,000 votes with 94% of precincts in, per AP. It would cap required lots at 5,000 sq ft where there's public water and sewer. If the lead holds, a small house on a small lot stays illegal in much of the state. nbcboston.com/boston-busines…

America's retirement system holds about $30 trillion and puts about 0.1% of it in private markets. Public pensions put closer to 20% there. That's two classes of savers. Labor's March plan for alternatives in 401(k)s is still a proposal. From my May piece in National Review.

Six banks have failed in 2026, up from two in each of the last two years. The FDIC looks more open to selling failed banks in pieces, American Banker reports, and declined to comment. If resolution policy changed, say so. Bank customers fund the bill. americanbanker.com/news/fdic…

The 10% card-rate cap is still a bill; the Senate version shows "introduced." From January, still true: when states capped loan rates, NY Fed researchers found credit to risky borrowers fell, moved to safer households, and delinquencies didn't improve. realclearmarkets.com/article…

the cfpb closed 1,327 of the 1,552 supervisory actions open in july 2025, some because they "no longer aligned with Bureau priorities." a violation should turn on the law, not on who runs the bureau. if a rule overreaches, change the rule. housingwire.com/articles/cfp…

Mortgage rates fell for a third straight week, to 7.18%, per Freddie Mac. That's still almost a full point above a year ago, at 6.22%. Rates will move on their own. Supply won't. Zoning that lets more homes get built is the relief that lasts. globenewswire.com/news-relea…

Say a server can process 1 million debit swipes before the bank must buy another. On the Eighth Circuit's marginal-cost reading, the first million cost about a nickel; swipe 1,000,001 costs a server. Todd Zywicki and I on reading the rest of the statute: americanbanker.com/opinion/t…

Landlords in the RealPage class action will pay about $360 million to renters, with no admission of fault. A settlement can't build an apartment. If the goal is lower rents, the fix is still more supply. multifamilydive.com/news/rea…

Seven state insurance departments have been suspended from NAIC accreditation since 1990. The reasoning behind those decisions isn't public. Neither is the NAIC CEO's pay, except in Michigan, by statute. From July, on what GAO's review found: southwestpolicy.com/regulati…