Regardless of the outcome of the struggle for control over the CFPB in the wake of former Director Richard Cordray’s departure, lenders are being conservatively advised to maintain compliance practices that can withstand the ebb and flow of political appointees, according to one top compliance attorney.“While the Trump administration is pushing for deregulation and removing the independence of the CFPB, if it is successful, it may be risky and costly for the financial industry to abandon all of the concepts of fairness to consumers that have been embodied in the CFPB’s actions,” Maria Macoubrie, of counsel in the Kansas City, MO, office of the Stinson Leonard Street law firm, said in a recent online blog. She conceded that less ...
Democrat Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut recently introduced legislation to allow state attorneys general and other state law enforcers to issue subpoenas during the course of investigations regarding compliance with state law by national banks. The Accountability for Wall Street Executives Act of 2017 would clarify that state attorneys general have authority to conduct visitorial oversight of federally-chartered national banks. It also would revise language in the National Bank Act that the Supreme Court interpreted as limiting the visitorial powers of state law enforcers when addressing compliance with state law by national banks. Additionally, the measure would permit subpoenas for suspected violations of real estate lending laws. “With ...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plan to tackle issues related to mortgage servicing and the borrower experience as part of their 2018 goals. The Federal Housing Finance Agency released the “scorecard” for the GSEs late last month, which outlines specific priorities the duo are expected to focus on throughout the year. The GSEs are charged with assessing the current mortgage servicing business model and developing specific plans to support servicing liquidity. The FHFA charged the GSEs to “assess the challenges and potential solutions for improving the borrower experience, expanding liquidity, and increasing efficiency of the servicing market.”
Progressives are worried that in 2019 a new Federal Housing Finance Agency director will takeover, undoing much of what they like about the current system…
Federal regulators’ efforts to simplify bank capital requirements relating to mortgage servicing rights don’t go far enough, according to industry participants. The institutions that the proposal is aimed at want even less stringent capital requirements, and large banks want to be included in the loosening. In October, federal banking regulators proposed simplified capital treatment for various assets, including mortgage servicing assets. The proposal would largely apply to banks with ...