The CFPB’s recently finalized “no action” policy towards market innovators that come up with new financial services products will probably depress the development of new mortgage loan products, numerous industry legal experts say. Under the policy, bureau staff would issue no-action letters (NALs) to specific applicants, stipulating that the CFPB staff “has no present intention to recommend initiation of an enforcement or supervisory action against the requester with respect to a specified matter.” Also, such a letter could be modified or revoked at any time at the discretion of bureau staff. Further, issued NALs would be publicly disclosed as a general practice, and they would not be binding on the bureau, other regulators or parties in litigation. Former CFPB official ...
Mass Defection of Top Financial Services Attorneys at K&L Gates. A total of 26 top attorneys – including Laurence Platt, Phillip Schulman, Steven Kaplan, Melanie Brody and Jonathan Jaffe – have jumped ship from the K&L Gates law firm in Washington, DC, to the rival Beltway law shop of Mayer Brown. Their new Consumer Financial Services Group will advise leading financial services companies – including banks, investment banks, private equity funds, hedge funds, mortgage companies, marketplace lenders, emerging payment companies and start-ups –as well as various types of participants in the consumer credit and real estate finance arenas. Their specialized focus will include counseling clients on federal and state laws governing the making, servicing, purchase and sale of residential mortgage loans and the ...
Mortgage industry groups continue to rail against the disruptions they insist are being caused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s integrated disclosure rule known as TRID. Respondents to a February survey by the American Bankers Association indicated that TRID compliance is still a relevant problem, continues to impose a heavy compliance burden, and causes customer dissatisfaction through delayed closings and increased fees and costs, the trade group ...
As mortgage performance improves, the organization that administers the Homeowner’s Hope Hotline is putting an increased emphasis on helping people qualify for mortgage financing. The Homeownership Preservation Foundation has worked extensively with consumers who suffered problems during the financial crisis but could now be ready to purchase a home. “Boomerang borrowers represent opportunity,” David Berenbaum, the CEO of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation ...
Some of the most well-known names in mortgage lending and servicing continue to deal with a variety of regulatory crackdowns and judicial disputes, some of which stem from the 2008 mortgage market collapse. In Massachusetts, HSBC has agreed to pay $4.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated state consumer protection laws by receiving commissions and other kickbacks from insurer Assurant Inc. relating to force-placed insurance policies that it procured for struggling homeowners in the state. Under the terms of the settlement, HSBC will provide...
Following up on limited guidance the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued in January on the disclosure of construction-to-permanent loans under the TRID integrated disclosure rule, CFPB officials this week participated in a webinar and provided some specific answers to a number of detailed questions they have received from the industry on the topic. A number of industry participants inquired, first of all, as to the kinds of options available to a lender for disclosing construction loans. Lenders have several possible ways to disclose construction loans under the integrated disclosure rule, according to Nick Hluchyj, senior counsel in the bureau’s office of regulations. “Regulation Z and Appendix D have...
But the news wasn't all good: After peaking at $280 billion in the third quarter of 2015 – an eight-year high – purchase-mortgage originations tumbled 25 percent in 4Q...
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