The Conference of State Bank Supervisors told the CFPB it is concerned that certain bad actors within the mortgage lending industry could take advantage of the bureau’s proposed “right to cure” an otherwise qualified mortgage loan that inadvertently falls outside the ability-to-repay rule’s 3 percent cap on points and fees. The CSBS concern revolves largely around bona fide discount points. “State banking regulators support measures that would increase access to credit for consumers who are at the margins of the points-and-fees limits,” the CSBS said in public comment letter to the bureau. “However, there is concern that the proposed ‘cure’ mechanism for inadvertent points and fee miscalculations could disguise or promote the misuse of discount points by unscrupulous lenders seeking ...
President Barack Obama’s original recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the CFPB was likely unconstitutional, according to the rationale the U.S. Supreme Court used late last month to unanimously declare the president’s nominees to the National Labor Relations Board out of bounds. Late last month, in NLRB v. Noel Canning, the SCOTUS ruled that the president’s Jan. 4, 2012, recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were invalid. Alan Kaplinsky, a practice leader with the Ballard Spahr law firm, explained the legal question in dispute this way: “The NLRB recess appointments were made on January 4, the day after a new session of Congress had begun with a pro forma January 3 session and two days before ...
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is doing another survey of its membership to determine the amount of closing cost credits given back to consumers at closing during 2013 – part of a broader effort on the part of the trade group to persuade the CFPB to loosen aspects of its ability-to-repay rule. Last year, NAMB submitted a letter to the CFPB to detail the mandatory credits a broker is required to provide consumers when rate sheet pricing exceeds the broker’s contractually obligated Lender Paid Compensation agreement. NAMB contends that the mortgage broker community provides mortgage credits back to the consumer that range in the billions annually, thus stimulating the nation’s economy. In order to demonstrate this, NAMB polled a number ...
The CFPB got a public relations black eye last week when its Inspector General issued a report finding that renovation costs for the bureau’s headquarters in Washington, DC, now stand at a projected $215.8 million – $160.8 million more than the original estimate. “These estimated all-in costs include the $145.1 million obligated for construction, construction management, and General Services Administration fees, as well as $70.7 million for other items including A/E [architectural/engineering] services, rent for swing space, costs associated with moving, and additional renovation-related expenses,” the IG noted. According to the IG, the CFPB has formalized policies for budgeting and funding, as well as for approving major investments prior to obligating funds. “However, we noted that the approval of funding for ...
Consumer complaints to the CFPB continued their quarter-by-quarter rise and fall, but one strong message from second quarter data is that financial services providers of all types saw a big improvement in the sheer volume of gripes, a new analysis by Inside the CFPB found. Overall, criticisms fell by 14.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Of the eight categories of consumer criticisms we track, seven saw double-digit improvements in 2Q14, ranging from an 11.3 percent drop related to bank accounts, to an 18.5 percent fall having to do with home mortgages. The sole category that saw an increase in the period ended June 30, 2014, was money transfers, which saw a rise of a scant [with 3 charts] ...
As for the two banks working on jumbo securities, both have not issued any bonds in recent years but “are getting their securitization machines ready,” said one jumbo executive.
The most encouraging sign is that agency volume has been gaining pace. Production increased by 11.4 percent from May to June, with $76.48 billion in gross issuance.
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