The revised integrated mortgage disclosure rule takes effect this month, and compliance experts said the industry is ready despite some remaining uncertainty. The CFPB last year finalized amendments to its Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure rule. The revised rule, dubbed TRID 2.0 by the industry, became effective in October 2017, but the agency set Oct. 1, 2018, as the mandatory compliance date ...

The uncertainty about liability and cure mechanisms under the TRID 2.0 disclosure regime could have a negative impact on the secondary market, said compliance experts. Industry groups had sought clarification of liabilities for specific TRID violations, as well as additional cure provisions and bona fide error defenses, during the comment period for proposed amendments to the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated ...

The CFPB’s recent efforts to create a regulatory sandbox for financial technology (fintech) companies would benefit the mortgage industry, said a former CFPB attorney. Ever since the agency hired Paul Watkins, a lawyer who helped establish the nation’s first regulatory sandbox for fintech companies, to lead its Office of Innovation in July, fintech regulation has become an area of focus at the bureau. The CFPB in August joined a global fintech regulatory initiative ...

The CFPB has been accelerating its enforcement actions in the past two months, and attorneys said Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney is now defending the bureau’s enforcement power, with a new strategy and focus. “The enforcement actions are being announced more frequently now,” said Allen Denson, partner at Hudson Cook. “I expect the steady clip of settlements we’ve seen over the last two months to continue.” After Mulvaney took the reins at the ...

Mortgage lenders want the CFPB to exempt single-family residential construction loans from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act / Truth in Lending Act Integrated Disclosure Rule. The TRID rule implemented by former Director Richard Cordray expressly applies to most construction loans that are secured, closed-end consumer credit transactions. Such loans are subject to the same extensive cost and term TRID disclosures as permanent purchase ...

The CFPB recently dropped its RESPA-related investigation of Zillow, deciding not to bring enforcement charges against the online real estate database firm, according to a new public filing. At issue was Zillow’s co-marketing program, which allows real estate agents and lenders to advertise together on the firm’s website. As part of the launch, Zillow had boasted that its “premier agents” can invite lenders to share marketing costs. “Lenders get featured next to the agents on Zillow ...

Federal courts have thrown out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s aggressive interpretation of anti-kickback provisions in the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. But plenty of questions remain about how new management of the agency will handle the issue or the fate of existing guidance on marketing service agreements, industry experts said this week.

The D.C. circuit decision involving PHH Mortgage and Sec. 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act should lead the CFPB to rethink its 2015 guidance on marketing services agreements, industry groups say. The CFPB under former director Richard Cordray issued guidance suggesting that many MSAs are designed to evade RESPA’s prohibition on the payment and acceptance of kickbacks and referral fees. “What the bureau did was to create an impression that it would ...

The CFPB last week dismissed its precedent-setting case against PHH Corp., officially overturning the bureau’s controversial interpretation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act under former Director Richard Cordray. In the end, the four-year legal battle over alleged RESPA violations regarding captive reinsurance arrangements ended up with no fine or penalty being assessed on the mortgage lender. The final court ruling that upheld the constitutionality ...