Small nonbanks want the CFPB to exercise the risk-based approach to supervision mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, arguing that regulators don’t understand the sector’s business model. A group of over 50 lenders sent a letter to the CFPB last week asking the bureau to exempt smaller independent mortgage bankers from its examinations and audits. They argued that the Dodd-Frank Act requires the agency to exercise risk-based supervision, taking into ...

Senate Democrats are asking for more information from Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney about the reorganization of the bureau’s student protection unit and ending public disclosure of the consumer complaint database. Sen. Sherrod Brown, OH, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Sen. Patty Murray, WA, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, led the group ...

The CFPB payday lending rule has survived Congress, but Acting Director Mick Mulvaney suggested that the bureau will work with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to change it. “The bureau will strive to expand consumer choice, and I look forward to working with the OCC and other partners on efforts to promote access and innovation in the consumer credit marketplace,” Mulvaney said in a statement. The acting director applauded an OCC ...

Mick Mulvaney, the acting director of the CFPB, said the priority of his interim tenure at the consumer agency, which will end June 22, is to make the bureau a “gold-standard regulator.” Gold-standard regulators, by his definition, are beyond the realm of partisan bickering, and are not affected by political transitions. The best examples are the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., he said. …

The CFPB’s request for information on enforcement has drawn a lot of attention from industry groups, consumer advocates and individuals. Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney said the agency will end regulation by enforcement and stop pushing the envelope in its interpretation of the law. Trade groups have offered up numerous nitty-gritty suggestions on improving its enforcement practices. The agency “has made no secret about the fact that, over the ...

Banking groups had plenty of suggestions in response to the CFPB’s request for feedback on its supervisory activities, starting with better communication and coordination. The CFPB supervises banks with more than $10 billion in assets and nonbanks that offer consumer financial products or services. Trade groups railed against the agency’s so-called regulation by enforcement, and instead urged the bureau to provide more guidance. “To date, the bureau’s ...

The CFPB is Not Backing Off Aggressive UDAAP Claims. The CFPB recently filed a brief in a case against Think Finance that was brought by former director Richard Cordray. The CFPB sued the company for collecting on debts that consumers didn’t legally owe. The brief supported the agency’s original claims. [Include one brief] ...

A key Treasury Department official said regulatory reform could help rejuvenate the non-agency MBS market but offered little guidance on the future prospects for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

GSE shareholder litigation activity continues into mid-year with two new cases being filed in the past week. Joshua Angel, a corporate restructuring lawyer and owner of junior preferred stock, filed a lawsuit this week to sue Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their respective board of director members who were serving on Aug. 17, 2012, when the Treasury sweep was formalized. Angel seeks to recover damages from the defendants for his pro-rated share of the $10 billion dividend entitlement loss he and other junior preferred shareholders have incurred to date.

Treasury Official Sees Major Impact from Single Security. A key Treasury Department official suggested that issuers of non-agency MBS may someday participate in the common securitization platform being developed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Craig Phillips, counselor to the Treasury, said the industry has made a lot of progress toward the launch of the single security that is scheduled for June 2019. “Industry preparedness is about an eight or nine on a scale of 10,” he said during remarks at this week's secondary market conference sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association in New York. Phillips characterized the...