Mortgage companies that fall under the heading “real estate credit” actually cut 300 employees during the month, leaving the sector with 211,700 full-timers.
There might be the usual hard line posturing on the part of both major political parties in the U.S. Congress on display when it comes to legislation related to the CFPB. But behind the scenes, top industry officials have no intention of letting up on the pressure they are trying to bring to bear on lawmakers to pass as many practical changes to bureau rulemakings as possible. “In the next two weeks, there will be several bills introduced dealing with less controversial but important elements of regulatory reform that we think will have bipartisan support,” said one mortgage industry executive in Washington, DC. Bills are expected to include provisions such as providing “qualified mortgage” status for many portfolio loans, with ...
A key take-away from last week’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee was a clear indication that the CFPB plans to fully enforce its integrated disclosure rule when the Aug. 1, 2015, effective date kicks in. The rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act was finalized in November 2013. During the hearing this past Tuesday, Reps. Randy Neugebauer, R-TX, and Brad Sherman, D-CA, both pressed CFPB Director Richard Cordray on whether he would be open to a 60-day enforcement delay or a “restrained enforcement” period when the TILA/RESPA integrated disclosure rule – the TRID – goes live. Cordray did not come right out and say he would refuse to accept or implement one, but ...
CFPB Director Richard Cordray told members of Congress last week that the bureau’s final rule on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting would likely come out sometime this summer, perhaps in July. He also indicated there would be a significant amount of time for mortgage lenders to get in compliance with it. He did not, however, provide any more detail such as a specific timetable. During last week’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Randy Hultgren, R- IL, said small financial institutions are concerned about the proposal. “CFPB’s efforts thus far to narrowly tailor proposed HMDA requirements have been insufficient,” he said. “Even though the Dodd-Frank Act mandates 17 new data fields, the CFPB has proposed an additional 20 ...
The CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule will likely be revised if Congress fails to enact legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises by the time the rule’s Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac “patch” expires in six years. Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee last week, CFPB Director Richard Cordray and committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, went back and forth over the accuracy of a study the Federal Reserve did a few years ago about the potential impact the ATR rule could have on the market, specifically in terms of limiting borrower access to credit. Cordray said he disagreed with the findings of the report, asserting that the Fed’s study was based on provisions that were substantially different than what were ultimately adopted. Hensarling then ...
Many people in the mortgage industry remain bent out of shape over the CFPB’s controversial online rate-checker tool, and some of the pent up frustration was on display during a hearing last week of the House Financial Services Committee. Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-TN, asked CFPB Director Richard Cordray, “This mortgage rate checker is something that is really muddying the waters. Why did the bureau post an incomplete and imprecise rate checker to help consumers when it’s not accurate? Where are you getting that information, and why did you do it prematurely?” Cordray replied, “It actually is quite accurate and it’s up-to-date, daily information.” He then cited the bureau’s concern that prompted the development of the rate-checker. “What we found is ...
This is the first in a series on industry efforts to prepare for compliance with the CFPB’s integrated disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.According to Scott Stucky, chief strategy officer at DocuTech, mortgage lenders need to engage TRID preparation on multiple levels. “They’ve obviously got to be ready from a technology perspective, so working with their origination system and document solution provider, they should be in the testing phase at this point in time,” he told Inside the CFPB recently. “Even if it’s rudimentary testing, even if it’s just very basic and they can’t get everything completely together, they should be doing some basic evaluation,” he added. “That’s because, in ...
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