If you’re a mortgage lender waiting for your first examination from the CFPB, there are three important principles you should be aware of, according to Burton Embry, executive vice president and chief compliance officer of Primary Residential Mortgage, based in Salt Lake City, UT. Delivering a presentation during a webinar sponsored by the California Mortgage Bankers Association last week, Embry began with the obvious: Consumer protection. “One of the CFPB’s big focuses is on consumers. It’s all about consumer protection, we all know that,” he said. “So when they are looking at your policies and procedures, for example, that’s one of the things they are looking at: the risk to consumers.”In other words, “How have you written your policies ...
CFPB Moves to Defend its Supervisory Information in Ocwen Case. The CFPB recently asked a federal judge to let it intervene in a whistleblower case brought against Ocwen Loan Servicing in order to protect the confidentiality of its supervisory information. “The bureau seeks to intervene for the limited purpose of invoking the bank examination privilege and the bureau’s regulations to protect confidential and privileged bureau supervisory records and information related to the bureau’s supervision of Ocwen,” the CFPB said in its motion filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Among its legal arguments provided to U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant, the CFPB said its regulatory and supervisory interest could be impaired if it is ...
CFPB Firmly in CHOICE Act’s Crosshairs. Since Inside the CFPB went to press last, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, released more details about the Republican alternative to replace the Dodd-Frank Act. Dubbed the Financial CHOICE (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs) Act, the bill not only includes provisions to provide a qualified-mortgage safe harbor for any mortgage that has been held in portfolio by a depository institution since origination, but also a host of provisions targeting the structure of the CFPB itself. For instance, the bill could change the name of the CFPB to the “Consumer Financial Opportunity Commission (CFOC),” and task it with the dual mission of consumer protection and competitive markets, with ...
Fannie Mae’s $759 million new headquarters has been the centerpiece of public criticism over the past week. A Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General report criticized the FHFA for allowing what it called excessive spending on the downtown Washington, DC, headquarters, which broke ground in mid-May. The review stemmed from an anonymous hotline complaint alleging overspending on the project. The IG questioned the FHFA’s oversight and recommended the agency closely scrutinize the building’s plans and budget. The problem arose when the cost to build out the new space to Fannie’s specifications increased by 54 percent from January 2015. Costs rose from $164.32 square feet to $252.81 square feet. Then back down some in May 2016 to $223.35/square foot.
An Arkansas Congressman introduced a bill last week that would require the Treasury Department to annually exam the possibility of ending the GSE conservatorship.Rep. French Hill, R-AR, said H.R. 5505, the GSE Review and Reform Act, would require Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to lead the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It would amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to require annual studies on ending the conservatorship of the GSEs. He noted that outside of a study done in 2011, the administration has had little engagement with Congress on a path toward ending the eight-year conservatorship and reforming the “broken” housing finance system. Hill added that the...
The increase in first-time homebuyer volume and market share has occurred without looser underwriting in terms of credit scores and loan-to-value ratios…
The Securities and Exchange Commission will re-propose a rule addressing conflicts of interest regarding certain securitizations, according to SEC Chair Mary Jo White. The rule required by the Dodd-Frank Act was originally proposed by the SEC in 2011. “It’s proved to be much more complicated than our experts in the agency envisioned,” White said last week at a hearing by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Section 621 of the DFA requires...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS guarantee fees are too high, given the strong credit profile of new business since the financial crisis, according to a diverse collection of real estate, banking and consumer interest groups. The groups called on the Federal Housing Finance Agency to lower MBS guarantee fees charged by the two government-sponsored enterprises, and to reduce or eliminate the loan-level pricing adjustments that are typically wrapped into the consumer’s note rate. The average g-fee has jumped from 22 basis points in 2009 to 58 bps in 2014, including the 10 bps surcharge that Congress mandated in 2011 to cover a payroll tax cut. Loan-level pricing adjustments can total...[Includes one data table]
Ginnie Mae is once again getting anxious about the growing – and large – presence of nonbanks that service the agency’s MBS, fearing a liquidity crisis could erupt because some firms rely too heavily on “non-traditional and very sophisticated funding mechanisms.” In a statement issued to Inside MBS & ABS this week, Ginnie contrasted nonbanks to depositories “who traditionally were the primary issuers of Ginnie Mae MBS.” The agency added...[Includes one data table]
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