JPMorgan Chase exhorted the CFPB to address some fundamental flaws in the integrated disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act – namely, an insufficient capability for lenders to “cure” the inevitable errors that occur and the significant legal liability lenders and assignees face. As the lender spelled out in its public comments to the CFPB regarding its proposed solution to the TRID “black hole” (see following story), these are two significant hurdles that are keeping private capital from returning in full force to the mortgage market. Chase urged the bureau to address a number of unresolved concerns the industry has brought up since the rule was adopted, in order to foster stability and ...
Read More
Leading trade groups that represent various segments of the mortgage and real estate industry generally support the changes the CFPB recently proposed to close the so-called black hole it inadvertently created when it drafted the integrated disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. “The proposal recognizes that unexpected events occur regularly and cause closings to be delayed. Those delays should not prevent closings or increase costs for other consumers who are able to close on time,” the Mortgage Bankers Association said. “Amending the integrated-disclosure requirements to address the black hole will resolve these issues, and the remaining limitations on when tolerances may be reset will afford sufficient protections for consumers.” Other industry ...
Read More
The House Financial Services Committee recently passed a handful of mortgage-related bills, including H.R. 2954, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act, introduced in June by Rep. Tom Emmer, R-MN. His measure would exempt all but the top 10 percent of mortgage lenders from some pending data collection and reporting requirements under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, according to an analysis by Inside the CFPB. Starting with 2017 data (to be submitted to the CFPB in early 2018), the volume threshold for HMDA respondents is a minimum of 25 originated mortgage loans in each of the last two years (i.e., 25 loans in 2015 and 25 loans in 2016). This volume threshold only applies to depositories in 2017, then applies to ...
Read More
In a development likely to further fuel speculation that his boss is on his way out the door, Anthony Alexis, the head of enforcement at the CFPB, will leave the agency for parts unknown after more than five years at the bureau. The exact date of his departure is to be determined, as he plans to remain until his successor is chosen. No official announcement was made, but a bureau official confirmed the news.CFPB Director Richard Cordray noted: “As our chief of enforcement, Tony has been my strong right arm, just as he was to Kent Markus who preceded him in that role. Together, they have earned the respect and admiration of many – including me – for their fierce integrity ...
Read More
Ocwen Financial revealed last week that it has settled with four more jurisdictions – Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Tennessee and Texas – resolving regulatory actions brought against the nonbank over some of its mortgage lending and servicing practices, as well as financial reporting issues. That brings to 21 the number of jurisdictions the firm has made peace with. “We continue to work cooperatively with the remaining 10 state regulatory agencies and two state attorneys general to reach acceptable resolutions,” spokesman John Lovallo said. Terms of the settlements with Arkansas, DC and Texas are virtually identical to those previously announced and reported by Inside the CFPB. One of the most significant provisions is that Ocwen will not acquire any new mortgage servicing ...
Read More
The CFPB recently issued its strategic plan for fiscal years 2018-2022, with a heavy reliance on technology and data to make sure the industry is complying with its various rules and regulations.The document articulates a handful of the bureau’s goals for the next five years, and then breaks out the various objectives by which it intends to reach those goals, along with strategies to attain those objectives.The CFPB’s most relevant goal for lenders, from a supervisory and compliance point of view, is to prevent financial harm to consumers while promoting good practices that work for consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole. One objective the agency plans to pursue is to supervise institutions to foster compliance ...
Read More
The CFPB recently published an updated iteration of its small-entity compliance guide for the integrated disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, or TRID.The bureau updates this guide periodically to reflect finalized clarifications to the rule which affect guide content, as well as administrative updates. This latest version reflects the final rule that was issued July 7, 2017, and published Aug. 11, 2017. Among the revisions incorporated is the change regarding disclosure of specific seller credits (Section 13.10). There are also numerous updates to incorporate changes and clarifications from the July 7, 2017 amendments to the TILA-RESPA final rule, including: requirements and guidance on current requirements for tolerances in the good ...
Read More
The CFPB has come out with the second version of its Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (Regulation C) small-entity compliance guide. This iteration reflects a variety of changes to the bureau’s HMDA rule that were issued in August 2017 and published on Sept. 13, 2017. The HMDA rule changes the types of financial institutions that are subject to Regulation C; the types of transactions that are subject to the regulation; the data that financial institutions are required to collect, record and report; and the processes for reporting and disclosing HMDA data. According to Richard Andreano, a partner in the Washington, DC, office of the Ballard Spahr law firm, “One of the main changes incorporated in the revised guide is the temporary ...
Read More
It looks like the CFPB might be contemplating new disclosures for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, otherwise known as reverse mortgages. The agenda for the Nov. 2 meeting of the bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board, which was posted online recently, indicates the panel “will discuss Know Before You Owe: Reverse Mortgages, financial well-being, trends and themes, and payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans.” The use of the phrase “Know Before You Owe” suggests a new disclosure regime for reverse mortgages could be in the offing. The CAB meeting announcement also indicates that written comments will be accepted from interested members of the public. They should be sent to CFPB_CABandCouncilsEvents@cfpb.gov at least seven days before the meeting. “The comments will be ...
Read More
Complaints consumers made to the CFPB about their mortgages fell in every single category tracked during the third quarter of 2017, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB, further evidence of the recovery underway in the market. In fact, the sole category that saw an increase on a year-over-year basis was the loan application/ origination grouping, which was still at elevated levels after a surge in the first quarter, possibly due to issues associated with the implementation of the integrated disclosure rule. Total criticisms fell by 21.2 percent from the second quarter to the third, and by 27.7 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. [With exclusive data] ...
Read More
Republicans Take Issue With Fannie/Freddie QM Exemption. Some Congressional Republicans recently expressed concerns about the special treatment that loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises currently enjoy under the CFPB’s qualified mortgage standards.... CFPB Updates HMDA Implementation Materials, Filing Instructions Guide. As part of its effort to support the industry’s adoption of the CFPB’s recently issued 2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act final rule, the bureau has updated the chart titled: Collection and Reporting of HMDA Information about Ethnicity and Race.... Other Federal Regulators Issue Designated Key HMDA Data Fields List. The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week jointly issued ...
Read More