On June 30, California Governor Newsom has signed AB 130, a budget trailer bill related to housing. This legislation includes new requirements for mortgage servicers of subordinate mortgages, defined in the bill, and took...more
On July 1, the CFPB terminated two separate consent orders, one involving a federal credit union and the other involving a national mortgage servicer. Both orders stemmed from 2024 enforcement actions and involved alleged...more
On June 24, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Request for Information (RFI) to evaluate how Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) loans may affect FHA-insured mortgage underwriting. The RFI seeks comment on...more
On June 25, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a directive ordering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals for treating cryptocurrency held on U.S.-regulated exchanges as assets for reserves in...more
On May 28, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to terminate its redlining consent order against a New Jersey-based bank. The five-year order, entered in September 2022, resolved allegations that the banks violated...more
On April 16, the CFPB released an internal memo outlining major shifts in its supervision and enforcement priorities, signaling a retreat from several areas of regulatory activity. The next day, the Bureau issued formal...more
In January 2025, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (the “OFR”) issued a guidance stating that assignees of residential mortgage loans, including certain passive trusts, were required to hold a Maryland mortgage...more
On April 17, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced that the state has filed a lawsuit against a wholesale mortgage lender, alleging that the company engaged in a statewide scheme to mislead borrowers and inflate mortgage...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has taken two significant deregulatory steps affecting its oversight of the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs). The agency rescinded a 2024 advisory...more
3/31/2025
/ Affordable Housing ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Deregulation ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Freddie Mac ,
Mortgages ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Special Purpose Credit Programs ,
UDAP
On January 17, the Pennsylvania Attorney General filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against a group of mortgage brokers and their manager, alleging that they...more
On February 18, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) issued an alert to address industry concerns regarding its January guidance on licensing requirements for assignees of residential mortgage and installment...more
California Assembly Bill 3108 became effective on January 1, 2025 and could conceivably make certain business purpose loans secured by owner-occupied property subject to mortgage fraud claims by the borrowers. The primary...more
On January 10, 2025, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) issued guidance significantly expanding licensing requirements for assignees of residential mortgage loans in Maryland. The guidance stems from an April...more
On January 17, 2025, the CFPB filed a complaint against an Illinois-based non-depository mortgage lender for allegedly engaging in discriminatory practices. The CFPB alleges the lender engaged in improper redlining by...more
1/27/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discrimination ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Trump Administration
On January 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report, consumer advisory, and filed an amicus brief addressing the risks associated with home equity contracts (HECs)—financial products often...more
1/20/2025
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Home Equity ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On January 7, 2025, the CFPB announced the finalization of a rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., to prohibit the inclusion of medical bills on credit...more
On January 6, 2025, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a non-bank manufactured home financing company for violations of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z. The lawsuit alleges that the mortgage lender engaged in...more
On December 17, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule applying standard mortgage protections to Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans. The rule amends Regulation Z to clarify...more
12/24/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
New Rules ,
PACE ,
Regulation Z ,
Residential Property Owners ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Effective November 23, 2024, the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (the “DSML”) adopted new rules affecting mortgage loan companies, mortgage bankers, individual residential mortgage loan originators, and...more
12/16/2024
/ Banking Sector ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Lending ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Texas
In a September 26 settlement, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office reached an agreement with a mortgage loan servicer to resolve allegations of violations of Massachusetts consumer protection laws and the Truth in...more
On September 20, Governor Newsom signed AB 2424, which establishes a significant set of new foreclosure notification and sale requirements for mortgage lenders. The law is effective as of January 1, 2025....more
On August 29, the CFPB issued a consent order against a non-bank direct mortgage lender for misrepresenting the cost of its cash-out refinance loans, which are guaranteed under the VA home loan program, to active-duty...more
9/9/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Military Lending Act ,
Military Service Members ,
Misleading Statements ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing ,
Veterans
On August 13, the CFPB announced an advisory opinion on the applicability of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z to “contracts for deed.” A contract for deed is an arrangement in which a consumer purchases a home...more
On July 10, the CFPB announced proposed rules for mortgage servicers, aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosures. The new rules, which would modify RESPA and Regulation X’s existing mortgage servicing framework, are...more
On June 18, the CFPB settled enforcement actions against two mortgage servicers who serviced reverse mortgages on behalf of HUD, for their systemic failure to respond to consumer requests for assistance, resulting in...more