Unlocking the Secrets of Reverse Mortgages — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: CFPB’s Proposed Mortgage Servicing Rule Amendments: Understanding the Impact on Loss Mitigation, Foreclosure, and Language Access
An Inside Look as a Juror - FCRA Focus Podcast
On May 16, the CFPB published a Federal Register notice withdrawing its COVID-19-era mortgage servicing protections for borrowers. The CFPB identified two reasons for rescinding this measure: first, the rule was intended to...more
On May 15, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed an interim final rule in the Federal Register that will rescind its prior 2021 COVID-19 mortgage servicing final rule. The interim final rule is set for...more
At the tail end of the Biden administration, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2025-06, which was tilted Updates to Servicing, Loss Mitigation, and Claims. The 251-page mortgagee letter...more
The CFPB released its much-anticipated proposed update to the mortgage servicing rules last month that would make permanent many of the temporary servicing rules enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on July 10, 2024, announced a proposed rule that would require servicers to more intently assist borrowers throughout a "loss mitigation review cycle" before being permitted to...more
The complexity of loss mitigation programs designed to assist distressed mortgage borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been too daunting for many borrowers to seek help, the CFPB said, in a report released last...more
The CFPB announced that in its examination of mortgage servicers, it found that certain servicers violated truth-in-lending and other consumer protection laws designed to keep homeowners in their homes by charging homeowners...more
On April 24, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released the latest edition of its Supervisory Highlights, this time targeting so-called “junk fees” in the mortgage servicing industry. According to the...more
On November 17, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) asked all mortgage servicers to pause any foreclosure proceedings of VA-guaranteed loans, as well as extended its Covid-19 Refund Modification program through May...more
Three years after it began, the presidentially declared COVID-19 national emergency is officially over. On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed H. J. Res. 7, officially ending the COVID-19 national emergency a month earlier...more
The Federal Housing Administration recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-23, establishing a new COVID-19 Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Property Charge Repayment Plan. The COVID-19 HECM Property Charge Repayment Plan would...more
In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior month covered during the February webinar....more
In a win for Ballard Spahr client Specialized Loan Servicing LLC (SLS), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that SLS, a mortgage servicer, properly reported a Covid-19 forbearance plan under the...more
On January 18, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an updated version of its Mortgage Servicing Examination Manual. As the CFPB described in a corresponding blog post, the manual outlines “the types...more
On January 20, the CFPB encouraged mortgage servicers to advise homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages that a traditional sale may be better than foreclosure. The Bureau reported that due to the Covid-19 pandemic many...more
On December 15, 2022, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-23, establishing the COVID-19 Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Property Charge Repayment Plan. The COVID-19 HECM Property...more
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2022 applicable to the Mortgage industry. So, what happened in 2022?...more
As fears of a recession grow, it would be prudent for everyone—servicers and regulators alike—to think hard about default servicing improvements and reforms. More than two years after the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the...more
On Thursday, September 22, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new request for information (RFI) regarding mortgage servicing, potentially opening the door for much-needed regulatory reforms. The...more
On May 16, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its second metrics report as part of its ongoing supervisory monitoring of mortgage servicers’ COVID-19 pandemic response. The data collected is part...more
On May 16, the CFPB released a report examining metrics on mortgage servicers’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, homeowners are still facing significant risks and challenges in working with...more
On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Shortly thereafter, to assist consumers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a focal point for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – especially with regard to mortgage servicers and loss mitigation programs. In its Fall Supervisory Highlights, the CFPB noted...more
In a December 13, 2021 letter to servicers, New York Attorney General Letitia James reminded servicers of their continuing obligations to assist New Yorkers amidst the pandemic and warned of enforcement actions against...more
Federal Banking Agencies Publish Policy Road Map for Crypto-Asset Activities - The federal banking agencies have issued a joint statement summarizing their interagency “policy sprints” focused on crypto-asset activities...more