Consumer complaints to the CFPB about credit reports jumped in the third quarter, during which the massive Equifax data breach occurred, and year over year, according to a new analysis by Inside the CFPB. Gripes to the bureau leapt by 53.4 percent from the second quarter to the third, our analysis found, and skyrocketed 86.2 percent from year-ago levels. Criticisms about credit reports went from 12,830 in the first quarter of 2017 to 19,685 in the second, to 29,466 in the third. And it may get worse before it gets better, as the bad news about the Equifax hack makes its way further into the general population.Equifax-related complaints rose 131.2 percent during the period ending ... [With exclusive data]
Did DoJ Opine on Ocwen v. CFPB? No One’s Talking. Earlier this year, Ocwen Financial asked Judge Kenneth Marra of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach Division, to invite the U.S. attorney general to appear and participate in the company’s challenge to the constitutionality of the CFPB.... Last Call for Public Comments on TRID ‘Black Hole’ Proposal. The industry has until 11:59 p.m. Oct. 10, 2017, to submit comments to the CFPB regarding its proposal to close the “black hole” associated with the bureau’s integrated disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act....
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders are feeling more confident they will prevail in lawsuits over the Treasury sweep as internal government documents related to a popular case continue to trickle out. Late this week, Federal Claims Court Judge Margaret Sweeney granted a motion to compel the disclosure of documents that were filed over the summer by attorneys in Fairholme Funds v. the United States. Investors, having grown weary of the drawn-out discovery process, filed a motion in August in hopes of speeding things up by forcing the government to stop what they perceive as delay tactics. Attorneys asked the Federal Claims Court to use the “quick peek” procedure for some documents dating back to May 2012.
Mortgage lenders haven’t yet experienced any operating headaches from the Equifax data breach this summer – but the ramifications might come slowly and not be immediately discernable. One nonbank CEO told Inside Mortgage Finance that he’s angry about the breach for two rea-sons: his personal information was stolen and it could cause business problems because warehouse banks, state licensing agencies, investors and housing authorities pull Equifax reports to check on him ...
A proposal last week from federal regulators to reduce capital requirements on mortgage servicing rights for all but the largest banks was met with mostly praise from banks. “The proposal to review and refine capital rules for community banks is a step in the right direction that acknowledges what our members already know,” said Rob Nichols, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association. “Some of the current capital requirements are keeping banks from fully serving their ...
Mortgage originations for black and Hispanic borrowers rose significantly faster in 2016 than among whites, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of recently-released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data. The HMDA report reveals that a total of $1.956 trillion of home loans were originated last year, an 18.5 percent increase over the 2015 total. Most observers believe that HMDA undercounts total mortgage originations by about 5 percent ... [Includes one data chart]
Ocwen Financial has now buried the hatchet with a total of 15 states over alleged deficiencies in its compliance with laws and regulations relating to the company’s servicing and lending activities. Back in April, mortgage and banking regulators from 30 states and the District of Columbia and the state attorneys general of Florida and Massachusetts brought regulatory action against the nonbank servicer. This week, Ocwen settled with New Mexico, Virginia and West Virginia ...