The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the conforming loan limits for residential mortgage loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2025. Fannie Mae addresses the limits in Lender Letter...more
The percentage of unbanked households in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in 2023—4.2%–, the FDIC recently reported....more
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., an advocate of a strict financial regulatory regime, will become the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in the next Congress....more
Following lengthy litigation, the CFPB is attempting to close the books on its case against Townstone Financial alleging discriminatory lending practices and redlining African American neighborhoods in Chicago....more
11/7/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
This summer, the CFPB issued its long-awaited proposed rule amending the mortgage servicing rules under Regulation X, with a focus on loss mitigation procedures, foreclosure protections, and language access. These changes...more
The Justice Department announced that Citadel Federal Credit Union has agreed to pay more than $6.5 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining majority-Black and Hispanic...more
10/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Statutory Violations
Saying that reverse redlining is a form of discrimination, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has refused to dismiss a discrimination case alleging that Texas developer Colony Ridge specifically...more
10/8/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
Reverse Discrimination
On August 26, 2024, Chief Judge Randy Crane in the S.D. Texas granted summary judgment to the CFPB, denied summary judgment to the trade groups and upheld the CFPB’s 1071 Rule (small business loan data collection rule)....more
9/27/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business
The CFPB recently announced that the Filing Instruction Guide (FIG) for the submission of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data collected in 2025 is now available. The FIG, issued by the Federal Financial Institutions...more
In Circular 26-24-19, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sets forth documentation requirements for fees and charges that may be imposed on veterans in connection with VA-guaranteed home loans, other than the VA funding...more
Judge Randy Crane (E.D. Tex) ruled on August 26, 2024 that the CFPB did not exceed its authority under Dodd Frank when it issued its final Section 1071 small business lending rule. The court also rejected other Administrative...more
9/26/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business Loans
As interest rates drop, the CFPB is exploring ways to streamline mortgage rules to make the refinancing process easier and closing costs less expensive, Director Rohit Chopra said at a housing conference sponsored by the...more
9/25/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing
The CFPB has scheduled two sessions to provide a preview of its nonbank enforcement order registry. The virtual-only discussions are scheduled for September 30 and October 9. Both sessions will feature the same content....more
On June 28, in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, et al., the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference doctrine, a long-standing tenet of administrative law established in 1984 in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources...more
On August 26, 2024, Chief Judge Randy Crane in the E.D. Texas granted summary judgment to the CFPB, denied summary judgment to the trade groups and upheld the CFPB’s 1071 Rule (small business loan data collection rule)....more
9/17/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business Loans ,
Summary Judgment
On June 28, in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, et al., the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference doctrine, a long-standing tenet of administrative law established in 1984 in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources...more
On August 29, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Center (“FinCEN”) published Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transfers (“Final Rule”) regarding residential real estate. The Federal Register...more
9/11/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Beneficial Owner ,
BSA/AML ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Money Laundering ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., on August 30, 2024 introduced in the House of Representatives a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) that would nullify the CFPB’s final nonbank registry rule....more
9/10/2024
/ Congressional Review Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business
Our recent webinar featured a conversation with noted legal scholars Craig Green, Charles Klein Professor of Law and Government at Temple University Beasley School of Law, and Kent Barnett, recently appointed Dean of the...more
The District of Columbia (DC) Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recently entered into settlements with four title companies in connection with title company joint ventures that included the companies and real estate agents...more
9/3/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Joint Venture ,
Real Estate Agents ,
Regulatory Violations ,
RESPA ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In a tentative win for the CFPB, a federal judge in Texas ruled on August 26, 2024, that the agency did not exceed its authority when it issued its final Section 1071 small business lending rule. The court also rejected...more
8/30/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Amend ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business
The CFPB recently issued yet another final rule the agency says will help deter violations of consumer protection laws. This rule requires certain nonbank entities to register with the CFPB upon becoming subject to any order...more
The National Consumer Law Center is asking the CFPB, by way of a petition, for rulemaking that is long on policy arguments but woefully short on legal support, as we note below, to define residential leases as “credit” under...more
8/28/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit ,
Credit Reports ,
Creditors ,
Data Collection ,
ECOA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
NCLC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation B ,
Regulation Z ,
Residential Leases ,
Small Business ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In a surprising quick turn of events, on remand from SCOTUS, the 9th Circuit, on August 23, 2024, issued its unanimous unpublished panel opinion in Kivett v. Flagstar Bank, FSB (Kivett II) in which it essentially re-affirmed...more
8/28/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Bank of America ,
Cantero v Bank of America NA ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Escrow Accounts ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Flagstar Bank NA v Kivett ,
Mortgages ,
National Bank Act ,
OCC ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS
As previously reported, in June 2024 the CFPB issued a final rule creating a Nonbank Enforcement Order Registry. The rule is effective on September 16, 2024, with registrations available beginning on October 16, 2024 pursuant...more