Days after taking heat from critical members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee over the bureau’s increased attention to potential discrimination involving the provision of auto lending, CFPB Director Richard Cordray remained steadfast to his agency’s mission in this regard. “If anyone is uncertain about our resolve, let me do my best to dispel that uncertainty this morning,” Cordray said during an auto finance forum last week. “We will make every effort to do the job that Congress has set out for us, which...

The CFPB has begun the formal process that would result in a consumer protection rulemaking for the debt-collection market. The bureau issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to collect information on a wide array of related issues, including the accuracy of information used by debt collectors, how to ensure consumers know their rights, and the communication tactics collectors employ to recover debts. Among the CFPB’s points of emphasis was information accuracy. The agency said it is concerned that debt collectors may...

Following a report on the subject in the spring, the CFPB has begun receiving consumer complaints about payday lending. “We’ve heard from people who like the ease of obtaining a payday loan when they need to avoid paying their bills late,” said CFPB Chief of Staff Scott Pluta. “Many other people have raised concerns about the high cost of payday loans, not being able to repay the payday loan while still having enough money left for other expenses, and the debt collection practices they encounter if they can’t repay the loan.” Consumers...

The CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule and qualified mortgage standard will have wide-reaching implications for both the primary and secondary U.S. mortgage markets, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. The ATR rule, which goes into effect Jan. 10, 2014, was drafted to protect borrowers by ensuring that lenders have adequately assessed a borrower’s ability to repay a residential mortgage loan. As a result, “creditors will need to adjust underwriting practices to conform to new QM guidelines and new practices will need to be created and...

Lenders that were secretly hoping CFPB Director Richard Cordray might leave the bureau and run for public office again are out of luck. He’s not going anywhere for the foreseeable future – which means for at least the next five years. Last week, Cordray put to rest those on-again, off-again rumors that he might leave the bureau and return to his home state of Ohio to run for state office. The CFPB director said he dismissed any thoughts along such lines after he was confirmed by the Senate in July after more than a year of partisan...

The Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General is keeping a close watch on the CFPB as it continues to bolster its operational safeguards, Inspector General Mark Bialek said in the OIG’s recent semi-annual report to Congress. “The CFPB is continuing to develop policies, procedures, and other safeguards around its operations,” the IG said. “In its strategic plan, the CFPB has specifically indicated that it will focus on working to ensure ‘effective and efficient management, protection of the CFPB resources, rigorous...

Bank of America in Settlement Talks with CFPB. Bank of America is reportedly negotiating a settlement with the CFPB over allegations the firm undertook deceptive practices in the sale of credit card add-on products – specifically credit monitoring and debt cancellation products. According to Bloomberg, which broke the story, this development could mean a “winding down” of an industry-wide investigation by CFPB over credit card add-on products. The first enforcement action in this regard came last year against Capital...

Although non-agency MBS issuance has been a dicey proposition since rates spiked in late spring, residential lenders continue to eye the sector, liking the long-term outlook for jumbo securities. Two nonbanks taking a close look at the jumbo MBS market include Freedom Mortgage and W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital, both established names in the agency MBS arena. In an interview with Inside MBS & ABS, Freedom Mortgage CEO and founder Stanley Middleman said...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed the two GSEs to accelerate their portfolio trimming by focusing on “less-liquid” assets other than their own MBS.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen, President Obama’s nominee to replace Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, did not deviate in the slightest from Bernanke’s support for a policy that has resulted in the Fed buying two thirds of new agency MBS production, during her nomination hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee this week. “The Federal Reserve is using its monetary policy tools to promote a more robust recovery,” Yellen said. “A strong recovery will ultimately enable the Fed to reduce its monetary accommodation and reliance on unconventional policy tools such as asset purchases. I believe that supporting the recovery today is the surest path to returning to a more normal approach to monetary policy.” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, ranking member of the committee, took issue...