A Senate vote on FHA reform legislation appears unlikely unless Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-SD, find a way to persuade Republican lawmakers to sign off on a House-approved bill before the end of the year, industry sources say. Senate Republicans are poring over the bill, H.R. 4264, the FHA Emergency Fiscal Solvency Act of 2012, which the House passed overwhelmingly 402-7. It is unclear how much Republican support the bill would have if – and when – it is taken to the Senate floor, said one trade group executive. The bill would strengthen the ...

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-CA, and Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-NC, released a harshly critical report of the CFPB, asserting the bureau’s structure and mandate will dry up credit for large swaths of the American people. “At a time of prolonged economic strain, American consumers can ill-afford such an unaccountable, unresponsive and all-powerful financial regulator,” the report began. The document also cited a Federal Deposit...

The CFPB was able to convince judges in California to put a stop to two alleged mortgage loan modification scams it believes ripped off thousands of struggling homeowners across the country, accusing scammers of taking in more than $10 million by charging consumers for services that falsely promised to prevent foreclosures or renegotiate troubled mortgages. At the request of the CFPB, U.S. District Court judges in California ordered a halt to the operations of the Gordon law firm and the National Legal Help Center...

Those fee disclosure stickers seen at automated teller machines across the U.S. as per the Electronic Fund Transfer Act are slated to become a thing of the past, after a vote by the Senate cleared the way for the CFPB to eliminate the requirement. The Senate recently followed up on action by the House of Representatives and approved H.R. 4367, legislation that amends the EFTA to eliminate the law’s requirement that a fee disclosure be placed in a prominent and conspicuous location on or at an ATM. Critics say the ...

As the wait for the highly anticipated “qualified mortgage” final rule continues, its impact on FHA lending programs remains uncertain. Concerns have been raised over the possibility that the final QM rule the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is finalizing may establish a “safe harbor” for prime loans with a maximum debt-to-income ratio of up to 43 percent. This could have implications for FHA loans, which allow higher back-end ratios under certain circumstances, according to some lenders and industry participants. At what point the DTI ratios will ...

The CFPB has initiated a public comment period to determine how the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 has affected the daily lives of consumers and the behavior of industry. Passage of the act was expressly intended to “establish fair and transparent practices related to the extension of credit” in the credit card market. To achieve these purposes, the law changed the requirements applicable to credit card pricing in a number of significant respects. Prior to the CARD Act, the...

The latest CFPB-related work plan of the Federal Reserve Office of Inspector General indicates the OIG is working on an evaluation of the bureau’s annual budget process, a political flash point on Capitol Hill for Republican critics and opponents of the agency. “As an independent agency within the Federal Reserve System, the CFPB is funded principally by the Federal Reserve System in amounts determined by the CFPB director as necessary to carry out the agency’s operations, subject to limits established in the...

The CFPB has issued the examination procedures it plans to use to make sure private student lenders comply with federal consumer financial laws. The CFPB claims the authority to supervise large banks, as well as nonbanks, that make private student loans. The bureau said the new procedures may be used to examine both types of lenders. “Examiners will be assessing whether student lenders have the appropriate processes in place to prevent harm to borrowers,” the CFPB said. Among the requirements federal consumer financial...

CFPB Reorganizing Supervision Offices. Now that the bureau has launched its separate supervision programs for large banks and for nonbanks, it has decided to realign its headquarters supervisory staff. The CFPB will continue to have two supervision offices at its headquarters, but instead of one office for nonbank supervision and another for large bank supervision, one office will focus on examinations and another on policy. The examinations team will oversee the CFPB’s efforts to recruit, train and commission...

The FHA and VA have announced loan limit adjustments in many counties even as disparities with conventional loan limits persist in 2013, according to a new analysis by Inside FHA Lending. FHA loan limits for forward mortgages will increase in 2013 for 19 counties, 10 of which are part of the Houston metropolitan area. In those counties, the one-unit limit is going up just $1,500 to $272,550. The remaining counties are in Alaska. Congress authorized the “emergency” loan limits for high-costs markets – still $729,750 for FHA and $625,500 for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac –to run through Dec. 31, 2013. The base loan limit nationwide and in ...