The $25 million settlement is the CFPB’s first enforcement action brought over information handling practices in processing mortgage payments. The settlement is tied to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

The bureau initiated 32 fair lending investigations in 2022. The most common issue leading to supervisory communication was related to mortgage origination underwriting policies and guidelines.

The Federal Trade Commission, in an amicus brief supporting a CFPB appeal, said historical practice, Supreme Court precedent and congressional action affirm that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act expressly protects prospective credit applicants.

Movement Mortgage settles with DOJ; CFPB, other agencies issue RFI on medical debt; Senate Democrats want action on voice cloning; CFPB says most borrowers in forbearance in 2021 are current now; CFPB paying out to student loan borrowers who were charged illegal fees.

Fannie and Freddie will not buy condo loans in projects with unfunded repairs in excess of $10,000 per unit.

Most GSE sellers increased production in the second quarter, though first-half deliveries were still off 60.9% from a year ago. (Includes two data charts.)

Consolidating FHFA’s authority to support fair housing and fair lending laws under the umbrella of the GSEs’ equitable housing finance plans will improve access to mortgage credit for underserved communities, supporters say. The GSEs, however, see key problems.

Lenders have chafed at the temporary regulations put in place following the collapse of a Surfside, FL, condo in 2021, but those rules become permanent in September.

Northern California mortgage lenders are seeing numerous loan applications with falsified child support or spousal support income.

The inclusion of sales data on comparable properties and statistics on the racial and ethnic composition of neighborhoods should allow researchers to better identify incidents of appraisal bias.