Among the critical areas that mortgage lenders must pay close attention to in the CFPB’s ability-to-repay, qualified mortgage rule is what’s known as Appendix Q, which contains detailed underwriting guidance on how creditors must calculate the debt-to-income ratio in order to make a general QM loan subject to the 43 percent DTI limit. As adopted, Appendix Q generally requires items to be considered and verified for the two prior years, and requires well-documented projections for the following three years. However, on April 22...

Sen. Harry Reid is vowing that CFPB director Richard Cordray will get another vote in the Senate.

Progressives and other “Dump DeMarco” advocates are looking to a “Plan B” to replace the current acting head should Rep. Mel Watt’s nomination be significantly prolonged or even stall.

One of the largest USDA mortgage lenders in the U.S. is giving the boot to third-party loan brokers.

The Mortgage Bankers Association wants lower guaranty fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but is willing to barter for them.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, indicated last week he plans to push for a Senate confirmation vote sometime this week on President Obama’s nomination of Richard Cordray to continue at the helm of the CFPB. “I’m going to make sure he’s going to have a vote next week, and then we’ll see what happens after that,” Reid said last week, according to one press account. When pressed by reporters if he would use what’s often referred to as the “nuclear option” and force a change in the Senate rules to override the 60 votes needed...

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, wrote CFPB Director Richard Cordray late last week, requesting prompt answers to legal concerns surrounding the massive data collection effort undertaken by the agency on consumer spending habits. News reports in recent weeks have indicated the agency has allocated more than $20 million for collecting and tracking customer credit card and spending habits for more than 10 million Americans. After the senator and the...

Based on a criminal referral from the CFPB, the Justice Department has filed a complaint in New York against Mission Settlement Agency, a debt relief agency that allegedly charged illegal fees to consumers for debt settlement services. The charges are the first generated by such a referral from the CFPB, which filed its own civil complaint against Mission and another company. Last week, federal officials unsealed an indictment charging Mission Settlement Agency, its owner Michael Levitis, and three of its employees – Denis Kurlyand...

Based on a referral from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the CFPB has compelled a Texas homebuilder to surrender more than $100,000 he received in alleged kickbacks for referring mortgage origination business to entities the bureau asserts are sham mortgage companies. According to the CFPB, the homebuilder, Paul Taylor, received illegal referral fees through partnerships with Benchmark Bank and Willow Bend Mortgage Company. Taylor and Benchmark created and jointly owned Stratford Mortgage Services LC, which claimed to...

Federal action to help student loan borrowers deal with ever-increasing amounts of debt seems more likely to occur, after the CFPB issued a report highlighting how such debt burdens could be having a host of wide-ranging negative effects on the economy and society at large. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate issued statements and proposed bills to address the debts of student borrowers as the CFPB was issuing its report on student loan affordability. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Jack Reed, D-RI...