A number of consumer-oriented organizations are urging members of Congress to defeat H.R. 1737, the “Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guidance Act,” legislation they say would cripple the bureau’s ability to act against discriminatory auto lending practices. H.R. 1737, introduced this spring by Rep. Frank Guinta, R-NH, would require the CFPB to rescind its guidance from March 2013 regarding the fair lending risks associated with car dealer interest rate markups. The bill also would require the bureau to provide notice and take comments only for guidance related to auto lending through car dealers. Additionally, the legislation would make publicly available all information relied on by the CFPB, and redact any information exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act....

Former CFPB Deputy Director Steve Antonakes is the latest high level official at the bureau to cash in on his few years at the agency, taking a position as chief compliance officer for Eastern Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Boston. Antonakes, who most recently served as deputy director and as the associate director for supervision, enforcement and fair lending at the CFPB, brings 25 years of compliance, risk management and financial services experience to Eastern Bank. While at the CFPB, Antonakes served as its second-highest-ranking official and was responsible for the supervision of all banks and non-banks under the bureau’s jurisdiction and the enforcement of federal consumer protection and fair lending laws. Antonakes was appointed by successive governors ...

Get Your TRID On. The CFPB has put out a Know Before You Owe guide for real estate professionals to help them navigate the upcoming TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, otherwise known as TRID. The guide spells out the major elements of the rule, such as the steps associated with closings, and provides an explanation of the new disclosures. Industry pros can download from the bureau’s website print-ready versions in Adobe Acrobat PDF format as well as pre-order printed copies from the U.S. Government Printing Office. TRID Drives ClosingCorp to Integrate With Savana’s Loan Origination Product. ClosingCorp, a San Diego-based residential real estate closing cost data and technology vendor for the mortgage and real estate services industries, has integrated its Loan ...

The Department of Veterans Affairs has adopted a final rule aligning the Home Loan Guaranty Program’s disclosure and interest-rate adjustment requirements with the servicing provisions in the Truth in Lending Act, as recently revised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rulemaking will ensure VA remains consistent with other consumer finance and housing regulations governing adjustable-rate mortgages, the agency said. The rule is effective Sept. 11, 2015. The VA adopted without the change the rule as proposed on March 30, 2015. In this rule, VA adopted TILA’s minimum 45-day look-back period to clarify that lenders making VA ARMs must meet the statute’s minimum notification requirements. Specifically, disclosures and notifications must be provided to borrowers before an interest-rate adjustment. Lenders are required to adjust ARM rates based on the most recent ...

The FHA’s overall delinquency rate declined in the second quarter of 2015, although late payments increased in the 30-day and 60-day categories on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest national delinquency and foreclosure survey. The FHA, on the other hand, reported some variances in its delinquency data. The 90-day plus delinquency rate in June was down 30 basis points from March’s 6.42 percent on an unadjusted basis. Considering seasonal factors, the decline was just 2 bps. Results of the MBA survey showed FHA’s overall delinquency rate at 9.00 percent in the second quarter, down from 9.10 percent in the previous quarter, as the serious delinquencies (90 days or more) fell over the same period. On the other hand, the 30-day and 60-day delinquency rates for FHA loans were up by a combined 10 bps from the ...

Two FHA lenders in Texas have agreed to pay a total of $469,419 in civil money penalties to resolve government allegations they charged bogus fees to borrowers to inflate the purchase amount of newly built manufactured housing. Among 11 alleged violations of FHA rules, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Mortgagee Review Board accused American Home Free Mortgage of Prosper, TX, of artificially increasing mortgage costs by an average of $12,000 per loan through improper fees. The fees were paid allegedly to a company owned and operated by AHFM’s sales manager. In addition, HUD alleged there were multiple violations of quality and annual certification requirements. As part of the settlement agreement, without admitting to any fault or liability, AHFM agreed to pay a $169,419 fine and to the permanent withdrawal of its FHA approval. In June 2014, the MRB also heard a ...

The FHA will not issue a new case number for any FHA-to-FHA refinance if the current mortgage has a repair or rehabilitation escrow account in FHA Connection. The change, which is one of several updates to FHA Single Family Policy Handbook 4000.1, applies only to FHA streamline refis. It aims to ensure that escrow funds of the mortgage being refinanced are properly applied as well as conform to system requirements. The updated sections become effective on Sept. 14, 2015. Another change clarifies that the payoff statement for the mortgage being refinanced is the only document required when calculating the maximum mortgage amount for simple refi transactions. In addition, guidance for loan-to-value limits for cash-out refis has been updated to clarify that the 85 percent LTV restriction applies only to cash-out refis. HUD also noted that appraisers have flexibility in regards to when inspections should ...

FHA Begins Registration of Lenders to Prepare their Transition to the EAD Portal. Lender registration for the transition phase of the new Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal began on Aug. 18. Lenders may select any of the seven onboarding phases, which FHA has established to ensure that lenders have more time to work within the EAD portal to ensure that their systems, data flow and operational process meet portal requirements before the June 27, 2016, mandatory-use date. Although lenders may enter at any phase they choose, the FHA strongly encourages lenders to register for the earliest onboarding phase, and to do it as soon as possible. That would give them more time to get ready for the full transition, the agency said. The first phase begins on Oct. 15, 2015, with additional phases beginning each month and running through the first half of 2016. Information on the onboarding phases as well as ...

The mortgage finance industry generally supports the final interagency statement on diversity policies and practices issued by the federal banking regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Securities and Exchange Commission, but called for additional clarification on some of the data being sought in order to maximize its effectiveness – and to limit lender liability. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its members appreciate the flexibility of voluntary participation that is reflected in the final statement, but noted there remain some questions around how this voluntary information will be collected. Three key issues include how the information will be shared once it is collected, what examiners will expect to see, and how lenders should present the information to regulators. On the first question, the MBA raised...

The CFPB filed suit in federal district court late last month against NDG Enterprise, characterizing the offshore payday lender as a complex web of commonly controlled companies, and accusing the operation of collecting money consumers did not owe, in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition on unfair, deceptive, and abusive acts and practices. NDG Enterprise originates and collects payday loans over the Internet to consumers in all 50 states, including states such as New York where those loans are void because they violate state usury caps and licensing requirements, according to the bureau.“We are taking action against NDG Enterprise for collecting money it had no right to take from consumers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Companies making loans within ...