Bureau Tries to Calm PR Storm Over Online Interest-Rate Checker Tool
January 26, 2015
The CFPB stirred up a hornet’s nest of industry anger and opposition earlier this month when it released an unfinished version of an interest-rate checker, part of a suite of new online tools dubbed “Owning a Home” to help homebuyers better shop around for a mortgage. “One critical feature contained in Owning a Home is the Rate Checker, a tool currently in beta release that helps consumers understand what interest rates may be available to them,” said bureau Director Richard Cordray. “It incorporates information from lenders’ internal rate sheets, information they use to calculate what interest rate is available for a particular consumer. In other words, we are giving consumers direct access to the same type of information that the ...