The CFPB last week issued its latest annual report on student loan complaints, citing in particular concerns about repayment problems facing those with older federal student loans that were made by banks and other private lenders. “We found that servicing issues may make repaying student debt even harder for this group of borrowers, in particular,” said CFPB Acting Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman. The report noted that outstanding federal student loans made by private lenders may have a higher concentration of borrowers in default or delinquency than the student loan market at-large. In another recently released report, the bureau estimated that more than 25 percent of student loan borrowers are delinquent or in default market-wide. The CFPB observed that at ...
The CFPB is considering banning lenders from using what it characterized as “free pass” arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from participating in class-action lawsuits. “Consumers should not be asked to sign away their legal rights when they open a bank account or credit card,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Companies are using the arbitration clause as a free pass to sidestep the courts and avoid accountability for wrongdoing. The proposals under consideration would ban arbitration clauses that block group lawsuits so that consumers can take companies to court to seek the relief they deserve.” The proposals the bureau is considering include giving consumers “their day in court” and incentivizing companies to comply with the law to avoid lawsuits. The bureau ...
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives voted 303-121 in favor of H.R. 3192, The Homebuyers Assistance Act. The legislation would provide the mortgage industry with a regulatory and legal safe harbor until Feb. 1, 2016, for mortgages originated in good faith under the CFPB’s Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Integrated Disclosure rule, otherwise known as TRID. The rule, designed to streamline the mortgage disclosures under the two laws, took effect Oct. 3, 2015, after nearly two years of notice from the CFPB. “The CFPB and House Republicans agree that a transitional period for TRID compliance which enables lenders to test their systems and ensures there is no large-scale disruption to mortgage lending is necessary,” said Rep. ...
A number of industry trade groups said that CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s determination earlier this year that PHH Corp.’s former mortgage reinsurance activities violated the anti-kickback provision of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was wrong and ill-founded on multiple levels. Jointly submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in PHH et al. vs. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the organizations argued that the director’s order cannot be reconciled with RESPA, the bureau’s governing regulations, or longstanding policy guidance. First, the directive contravenes the text, structure and purpose of RESPA Section 8(c)(2) by relegating it to “a mere rule of construction, rather than treating that provision as the exemption to liability that it ...
A cross-section of industry representatives and analysts were not very impressed with the long-sought guidance on marketing services agreements that the CFPB put out recently. Michael Barone, a director of legal and regulatory compliance at Lenders Compliance Group, a consulting firm in Long Beach, NY, said the guidance – which he characterized as very short and informal – “was an effort to get something out very quickly,” in response to all the congressional criticism that CFPB Director Richard Cordray received at the hands of critics on Capitol Hill. “It really does not have a lot of teeth at all,” he said of the bulletin. Further, the guidance doesn’t “tell us anything more than where we were an hour before this guidance came ...
The CFPB recently issued much-sought but quite limited guidance to the mortgage industry on marketing services agreements, emphasizing the legal and regulatory risks for lenders. “We are deeply concerned about how marketing services agreements are undermining important consumer protections against kickbacks,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Companies do not seem to be recognizing the extent of the risks posed by implementing and monitoring these agreements within the bounds of the law.” The guidance, in the form of a five-page bulletin, explains that, while marketing services agreements are usually framed as payments for advertising or promotional services, “in some cases the payments are actually disguised compensation for referrals. Any agreement that entails exchanging a thing of value for referrals of settlement ...
The mortgage lending industry had a less-than-enthusiastic greeting for another rulemaking from the CFPB that goes on for hundreds of pages. The initial reaction from the American Bankers Association was muted. Frank Keating, president and CEO, said his organization is pleased that the bureau extended the compliance date and excluded the collection of data on most commercial transactions, something the ABA advocated. “However, we continue to be concerned about the privacy of bank customers’ data and ensuring that their information is properly protected. We look forward to commenting on these important issues,” he added. “The rule also imposes significantly expanded data reporting and collection requirements, so we remain concerned about the appropriate balancing of costs and benefits in order to ...
Financial institutions will be required to provide much more data to monitor fair lending compliance and access to credit under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, thanks to a new, 800-page, final rule the CFPB issued last week. Under the new rule, lenders must provide more information about mortgage loan underwriting and pricing, such as an applicant’s debt-to-income ratio, the interest rate of the loan, and the discount points charged. “This information will enhance the ability to screen for possible fair lending problems, helping both institutions and regulators focus their attention on the riskiest areas where fair lending problems are most likely to exist,” said the CFPB. “This information will also help the bureau and other stakeholders monitor developments in specific ...
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