The CFPB is considering whether to propose a rule that would require registration of nonbank financial institutions, according to a Request for Information (RFI) the bureau posted on the Federal Business Opportunity website recently. As part of this process, the bureau is considering whether to procure a comprehensive and interactive online web-based registration system. “Such a system would allow nonbank financial institutions supervised or regulated by the CFPB to apply for, amend, update, or renew a registration online using a single set of uniform applications and would allow the CFPB to process these registration applications and amendments through automated workflows,” according to the RFI. Such a potential registration system might also be used to collect financial and operational data as ...

While much of the lending industry was captivated and consumed with TRID 2.0 and mortgage servicing amendments two weeks ago, the CFPB used the occasion of a public field hearing to preview its pending debt collection rule by circulating an outline of proposals under consideration in the run-up to conducting a small business review panel. The proposals the bureau is mulling over would increase protections pertaining to third-party debt collectors and others covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, including many debt buyers. “As part of its overhaul of the debt collection marketplace, the CFPB plans to address consumer protection issues involving first-party debt collectors and creditors on a separate track,” the agency said. More specifically, among the new ...

Student loan borrowers are encountering difficulties when they try to file an application for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, according to the CFPB’s midyear update on student loan complaints, which was released late last week. Since 2009, the vast majority of borrowers with federal student loans have a right under federal law to set their monthly student loan payments based on their income. For borrowers who are unemployed or earn low wages, these IDR plans provide for a “payment” as low as $0 per month.“Many borrowers depend on student loan servicers to inform them about the availability of IDR options and for processing borrowers’ enrollment in these plans,” said the bureau. “This report observes that borrowers encounter obstacles when submitting ...

The CFPB is strengthening its identity and access management program and access controls for select systems, but is behind the curve when it comes to supporting the use of personal identity verification (PIV) technology, according to the latest Office of Inspector General review of the bureau’s information security management practices. “[W]hile the CFPB uses multifactor, token-based authentication for remote access to the agency’s network, it has not implemented PIV cards for logical access to the agency’s network and systems,” the OIG report stated. CFPB officials told the OIG that the bureau is making progress in implementing PIV. “However, implementation has been delayed due to the prioritization of competing initiatives and the timing of the agency’s transition from the U.S. Department ...

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last week released on its website updated technical assistance videos on the CFPB’s Ability-to-Repay/qualified mortgage rule. “The updated videos provide financial institution management, compliance officers and staff with resources for a better understanding of the current requirements of the ATR and QM rule,” it said. ... CFPB Director Richard Cordray last week responded to two members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee who had recently pressed him to consider exempting small community banks and credit unions from as much of its rulemaking as possible...

A New York State Supreme Court judge recently signed off on JPMorgan’s proposed $4.5 billion settlement with a revised list of MBS trusts, while three other Wall Street banks lost in separate bids to have MBS claims against them dismissed. On Aug. 12, Justice Marcy Friedman of the New York State Supreme Court approved JPMorgan’s representation-and-warranties settlement offer for 319 MBS trusts. She concluded that the trustees exercised their discretionary power reasonably and in good faith in accepting the settlement. JPMorgan and a group of 20 large institutional investors that hold approximately 32.5 percent of the securities issued by the MBS trusts negotiated the settlement. Among these prominent investors were Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank ...

Recent rulings in Nevada favor the mortgage industry when it comes to super-liens imposed by homeowners associations on loans in foreclosure. Twenty-two states have super-lien laws that allow HOAs to take priority over first mortgages and foreclose the property to collect up to six months of unpaid fees. In 2014, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that an HOA could extinguish a senior mortgage. But the Ninth Circuit Court recently ruled that an HOA foreclosure sale extinguishing the first deed of trust is unconstitutional. In the case of Bourne Valley Trust v. Wells Fargo Bank, the court ruled that Bourne Valley seeking to purchase the property at an HOA foreclosure sale violated the first-lien holder’s due process rights. Attorneys at Bradley ...

With federal civil monetary penalties set to rise significantly over the next couple of months, mortgage industry stakeholders are getting increasingly concerned about retroactivity in some of the interim final rules adopted by federal agencies to implement the revised penalty amounts, according to industry attorneys. Although application of the adjusted civil penalty amounts to violations that occurred prior to the passage of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment ...

The private MI share of new primary insurance rose 6.0 percentage points to 37.8 percent during the second quarter, while the FHA share fell 5.4 percentage points to 34.4 percent…

Most of the participants in the review processes instituted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prior to issuing four major mortgage-related rules felt rushed by the process and unsatisfied with the final results, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. GAO reported on the experience of panel participants involved in analyzing the likely effects of the CFPB’s TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule (TRID), the mortgage servicing regulation, its loan ...