Fair Lending Shake-Ups: CFPB Vacates Townstone Settlement, FHFA Ends GSEs' Special Purpose Credit Programs — The Consumer Finance Podcast
The Latest on Junk Fees and New York's Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act — The Consumer Finance Podcast
The Latest on HUD's Disparate Impact Rule - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Title Insurance and Your Transaction
Law Brief®: Robert Wolf, Alexander Tiktin and Richard Schoenstein Discuss the Continuing Foreclosure/Eviction Moratorium
Credit Eco to Go Podcast - Not a Normal Mortgage Crisis: How the Mortgage Industry Weathered the Pandemic
Not a Normal Mortgage Crisis: How the Mortgage Industry Weathered the Pandemic
In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" covered during the April 2025 webinar....more
On December 17, the CFPB released an Issue Spotlight reporting on challenges that homeowners often face with mortgage servicing companies after a divorce or the death of a loved one which may cause them to become homeowners....more
On June 24, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had approved a new rule about the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) for home appraisals and valuations....more
Data analytics has become an essential tool in the field of compliance and risk management. It allows compliance officers to assess the effectiveness of their programs and identify potential risks before they escalate into...more
Townstone Mortgage (Townstone) has filed its brief in the CFPB’s appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from the district court’s decision in the CFPB’s enforcement action against Townstone. In the...more
On April 3, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a notice to appeal a district court’s decision to dismiss its complaint against Townstone Finance, Inc. (Townstone), a nonbank mortgage lender, and its...more
A&B Abstract: On January 30, 2023, President Biden informed Congress that the COVID-19 National Emergency (the “COVID Emergency”) will be extended beyond March 1, 2023, but that he anticipates terminating the national...more
On June 28, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a final rule (the “2021 Mortgage Servicing COVID-19 Rule”) amending Regulation X to protect borrowers from financial distress upon expiration of...more
The CFPB recently entered into a consent order with Nationwide Equities Corporation (Nationwide), which the CFPB refers to as a mortgage broker and mortgage lender that primarily provides jumbo reverse mortgage loans and Home...more
In this Issue. In one of its first acts after being installed on January 20, the Biden Administration issued a regulatory freeze on new agency rules that have been adopted but are not yet effective; in one of its final acts...more
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government passed the CARES Act, which provides a number of protections to homeowners unable to pay their mortgages. The CARES Act prohibits any home foreclosures before...more
Washington has joined the ranks of states requiring licensing of mortgage servicing rights holders and added tougher rules for recordkeeping, compliance, and offshoring activities. Our Financial Services & Products Group...more
Through its recent en banc decision in PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the D.C. Circuit reinstated the holding of the three-judge panel regarding the safe harbor provision in Section 8(c) of the Real Estate...more
The financial services industry — and the consumer financial services marketplace in particular — is experiencing significant innovation. Technology has facilitated the emergence of fintech as a major industry — fundamentally...more
The CFPB recently issued its newest edition of Supervisory Highlights Mortgage Serving Special Edition, Issue 11 (June 2016). From a litigator’s perspective, the Supervisory Highlights do more than summarize recent...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released a final rule amending the dollar thresholds in Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The CFPB’s final rule has two primary effects....more
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the issuance of a consent decree with a former mortgage loan officer arising out of alleged violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act’s...more
The CFPB is continuing its march towards a new rule governing the use of arbitration clauses in consumer lending contracts. On April 20, the Bureau announced its next step will be to conduct a field hearing in Albuquerque,...more
Major financial firms almost never litigate with their regulators. As a result, regulators often take aggressive enforcement positions with little fear of judicial scrutiny. That’s been especially true for the Consumer...more
Late last month a jury awarded Mount Olympus Mortgage Company (MOMC) more than $25 million for their claims against Guaranteed Rate (Guaranteed), which alleged Guaranteed along with other former employees of MOMC illegally...more
Holland & Knight and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) hosted a half-day forum that featured government officials discussing hot-button issues in consumer protection regulation and enforcement. Speakers at the...more
On October 15, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule to implement amendments to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new “Know Before You Owe” mortgage disclosure rule is designed to prevent surprises at the closing table, but with increased transparency come concerns over borrower and seller...more
On August 5, 2015, PHH Corp. (“PHH”) won a stay of the $109M penalty handed down by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) director Rich Cordray. Cordray’s aggressive legal reasoning and the harsh penalties he imposed,...more
In the first appeal of an administrative enforcement proceeding before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“Bureau”), the administrative law judge (ALJ) concluded that PHH Corporation, a mortgage lender, referred...more