On July 24, 2020, the CFPB announced the issuance of consent orders against Sovereign Lending Group, Inc. (Sovereign) and Prime Choice Funding, Inc. (Prime Choice). The CFPB indicated in their announcement that these consent...more
8/13/2020
/ Advertising ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
MAP Rule ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Regulation Z ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On July 15, 2020, the CPFB filed a complaint in federal court against Townestone Financial, Inc. (Townestone) representing the first ever redlining complaint against a non-bank mortgage lender. ...more
7/21/2020
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disparate Impact ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HUD ,
Mortgages ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Redlining
On July 16, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an updated 2020 Complaint Bulletin and again focused on complaints related to COVID-19....more
On July 15, 2020, Fannie Mae in an update to Lender Letter 2020-02 and Freddie Mac in Bulletin 2020-29 updated their COVID-19 servicing guidance to address insurance loss requirements and other matters. Fannie Mae also issued...more
Recently federal agencies proposed revisions to the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Flood Insurance. The agencies are the Comptroller of the Currency, Farm Credit Administration, FDIC, Federal Reserve Board, and...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2020-20 dated June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the extension of FHA temporary guidance regarding employment verification and appraisals due to COVID-19. The...more
The CFPB recently proposed a temporary extension of the qualified mortgage (QM) that is based on a loan being eligible for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (often referred to as the “GSE Patch”). ...more
6/29/2020
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
GSE ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Qualified Mortgage Rule
On June 23, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) posted on its website an interim final rule that creates a temporary exception to certain loss mitigation obligations of mortgage loan servicers under...more
On June 24, 2020, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) announced the release of the 2019 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. ...more
On June 16, 2020, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the availability of COVID-19 resources for mortgage loan borrowers....more
As previously reported, in April 2020 the CFPB released a final rule to increase the threshold to report closed-end mortgage loans under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) from 25 to 100 originated loans in each of the...more
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued Loan Guaranty Circular 26-20-19, dated May 19, 2020, to provide additional guidance to lenders regarding VA policies during the COVID-19 emergency....more
The CFPB recently issued two factsheets regarding the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B provisions that require creditors to provide the applicant with a copy of any written appraisal or other valuation...more
On April 29, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced an interpretive rule addressing the waiting periods under the Regulation Z right to rescind provisions and the TRID rule in view of COVID-19, and...more
The CFPB recently issued a final Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rule to increase the threshold to report closed-end mortgage loans from 25 to 100 originated loans in each of the prior two years, and to increase the...more
COVID-19 and social distancing protocols are presenting new challenges for us all. The real estate and mortgage industry is no exception. These challenges are impacting lenders, borrowers, and service providers, such as title...more
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently issued the 2020 edition of the Guide to HMDA Reporting: Getting It Right! (2020 Guide)....more
2/14/2020
/ Closed-End Loans ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Mortgages ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Threshold Requirements
As we previously reported, the CFPB is conducting an assessment of the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule. Although the comment period associated with the Federal Register notice regarding the assessment ended on...more
2/6/2020
/ Banks ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Deadlines ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgages ,
RESPA ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Surveys ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
As previously reported, in October 2019 the CFPB issued a final rule under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to...more
1/27/2020
/ Categorical Exemptions ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Open-Ended Lines of Credit ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulation C ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Small Entity Compliance Guide ,
Threshold Requirements
The Taxpayer First Act adopted in the summer of 2019 includes the following provision that has an effective date of December 28, 2019...more
12/20/2019
/ Applications ,
Consent ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Disclosure ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Loans ,
Personal Information ,
Taxpayer First Act of 2019 (TFA)
HomeStreet Bank recently agreed to the issuance of an order to settle an allegation by the FDIC that the bank’s discontinued Home Loan Center-based mortgage business line violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act...more
The CFPB recently issued in final form two elements of a May 2019 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) proposed rule. As previously reported, the May 2019 proposal would...more
10/11/2019
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Open-Ended Lines of Credit ,
Proposed Rules ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Threshold Requirements
In its first No-Action Letter under the new revised policy, the CFPB addresses a long-standing issue under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act regarding certain payment arrangements between mortgage lenders and housing...more
9/19/2019
/ Compensation ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Housing Counseling Agencies ,
HUD ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
No-Action Letters ,
Payment Terms ,
Policies and Procedures ,
RESPA
The U.S. Department of Treasury recently issued the long-awaited Housing Reform Plan, and among various topics the Plan addresses the temporary qualified mortgage under the Regulation Z ability-to-repay rule for loans that...more
9/9/2019
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Freddie Mac ,
GSE ,
Housing Market ,
Mortgages ,
Qualified Mortgage Rule ,
Regulation Z ,
Rulemaking Process ,
U.S. Treasury
The CFPB recently updated two prior Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) webinars to reflect amendments to HMDA made by the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, and the interpretive and procedural...more