National trade groups representing mortgage lenders of all sizes recently advised the CFPB to broaden the scope of its pending assessment of its ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule. The Mortgage Bankers Association, for instance, provided the bureau with multiple concerns it believes must be addressed, such as making sure the rule better serves millennials and immigrants who are entering the housing market. Other concerns include “the limitations of the 43 percent debt-to-income requirement that does not include compensating factors,” and whether the underwriting guides of the government-sponsored enterprises and government programs could serve as alternatives to Appendix Q. The Consumer Mortgage Coalition recommended that the agency begin its review process by analyzing the products and product structures that contributed to the financial ...
Mortgage settlement service company representatives claim the CFPB’s ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule discriminates against affiliated business arrangements (AfBAs) when it comes to the calculation of points and fees, compromising borrower choice of service provider, and urged the bureau to revise the rule accordingly. “The QM rule discriminates against AfBAs by requiring a mortgage lender with affiliates to count the affiliate charges against the 3 percent cap on fees and points,” the Real Estate Services Providers Council said in a comment letter to the CFPB regarding its pending ATR/QM assessment. For example, if a mortgage lender has an affiliate title or insurance company involved in the transaction, it must count the title agency or insurance agency charges toward the fees and points ...
The trade group for the mortgage insurance industry, U.S. Mortgage Insurers, suggested that as the CFPB reviews its ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule, it assess whether lenders have engaged in regulatory arbitrage at the expense of borrowers. The organization advised the bureau to pay particular attention to the different treatment among the QM standards of the calculation of points and fees and the maximum borrower debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. In terms of the former, USMI noted, “The various QM standards provide for different treatment of points and fees – a difference that drives lender behavior without a concomitant consumer benefit.” For instance, consumers with downpayments of less than 20 percent of the purchase price may have an option to finance with a conventional product ...
The CFPB’s so-called TRID 2.0 amendments, and the related proposal to deal with the “black hole” problem – the limited ability of a lender to reset tolerances with a closing disclosure – were published in the Aug. 11, 2017, Federal Register. That act establishes Oct. 10, 2017, as the effective date of the TRID 2.0 amendments, as well as the comment deadline for the black hole proposal. The amendments, which were finalized in July, essentially codify the CFPB’s informal guidance on various issues and make additional clarifications and technical amendments. They also create tolerances for the total of payments, adjust a partial exemption mainly affecting housing finance agencies and nonprofits, and extend coverage of the Truth in Lending Act/Real Estate Settlement Procedures ...
Mortgage lending representatives told the CFPB they support its proposal to temporarily increase the institutional and transactional coverage thresholds for open-end lines of credit under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. However, more needs to be done along those lines, they said in comment letters filed at the end of last month. Under the CFPB’s HMDA rules scheduled to take effect in January 2018, financial institutions are generally required to report HELOCs if they made 100 such loans in each of the past two years. Under the proposal released early last month, the bureau would increase that threshold to 500 loans through calendar years 2018 and 2019 in order to give the agency the time to consider whether to make a ...
The TRID amendments, which were finalized in July, codify the CFPB’s informal guidance on various issues and makes additional clarifications and technical amendments.
Although Fannie and Freddie continue to earn money hand over fist, their common shares are probably worth just $1 a piece, according to a new research report…
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