Another noteworthy part of the CFPB’s TRID 2.0 proposal would extend the applicability of a partial exemption that mainly affects housing finance agencies (HFAs) and nonprofits. The existing rule provides a partial exemption for certain non-interest bearing subordinate-lien transactions that provide downpayment and other homeowner assistance (housing assistance loans). The CFPB said it has learned that the exemption may not be operating as intended. “The bureau has received information that many HFAs are having difficulty finding lenders to partner with in making these loans,” the proposed rule stated. Following the introduction of the TILA/RESPA integrated disclosures, some vendors and loan originator systems no longer support the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act disclosures. “Although the RESPA disclosures are still required for ...

The CFPB’s proposed changes to its TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule also would eliminate a degree of uncertainty by applying the rule’s existing disclosure requirements to cooperative units. Under the current rule, coverage of cooperative units depends on whether cooperatives are classified as real property under state law. Because state law sometimes treats cooperatives differently for different purposes, there may be uncertainty and inconsistency among market actors.As a result, the CFPB is proposing to require the provision of the integrated disclosures in transactions involving cooperative units, whether or not such units are classified under state law as real property. This would apply to closed-end credit transactions, other than reverse mortgages. “In at least some states, ownership of a share in ...

The CFPB last week upped the compliance ante for mortgage servicers by finalizing a number of amendments to its 2013 mortgage servicing regulation that will expand consumer protections while requiring more of servicers. The protections address, among other issues, successors in interest and borrowers in bankruptcy. Under the final rule, servicers will be required to provide certain borrowers with foreclosure protections more than once over the life of the loan. As per the CFPB’s existing rules, a mortgage servicer is required to give borrowers certain foreclosure protections, including the right to be evaluated under the bureau’s requirements for options to avoid foreclosure, only once during the life of the loan. The final rule, however, will require that servicers give those ...

As policymakers in Washington, DC, face the expiration of the Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Modification Program at year-end, the CFPB last week released a collection of what it characterized as “guiding principles” on the future of foreclosure prevention. “We aim to help consumers avoid foreclosures, which upset their personal and financial lives,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “The modification program was put in place to provide alternatives to foreclosure. Our principles will serve as helpful guardrails for servicers, investors and regulators to consider as we continue to protect consumers who are struggling to pay their mortgages.” In summary, the principles emphasize, among other things, accessibility: “Consumers should easily be able to obtain and use information about loss mitigation options, and ...

Mortgage Industry Waits for PHH Shoe to Drop. The mortgage industry is awaiting a final ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, No. 15-cv-01177.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week released its proposed rule to clarify a number of issues related to its integrated disclosure rule known as TRID – and perhaps the single most significant aspect of the proposal for mortgage investors is what it does not include: any additional provisions to cure loan errors. Some observers believe that could be a negative for the secondary market. On the other hand, the bureau did provide...

Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are preparing to issue the first commercial MBS that will comply with risk-retention requirements, according to presale reports published this week. While industry participants continue to debate which type of risk-retention will be more commonly used, the pending $870.56 million MBS will include vertical retention. Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Trust 2016-BNK1 received provisional AAA ratings from Fitch Ratings, Kroll Bond Rating Agency and Standard & Poor’s. Fitch said the three originators contributing to the MBS will retain credit risk representing 5.0 percent of pool balance via the vertical retention option. Risk-retention requirements for commercial MBS take effect...

There’s more than $50.0 billion in capital ready to acquire new nonprime home loans, including non-qualified mortgages, according to Dan Perl, chairman and CEO of Citadel Servicing, a nonprime lender. “Liquidity is abundant,” he said last week at the California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Western Secondary Market Conference in San Francisco. “There is a ready market for this and I couldn’t say that two years ago.” William Pendleton, a senior vice president of portfolio lending at Caliber Home Loans, said...

One of the largest players in the "new" nonprime mortgage industry is Citadel Loan Servicing, Irvine, CA, which now has a portfolio totaling $600 million.

More unsealed documents were released this week during the discovery process in a GSE shareholder case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The eight documents ranged from an excerpt of former White House housing policy expert Jim Parrott’s deposition from January,to presentations from the Federal Housing Finance Agency in 2008 to several memos dating back to 2008 and 2012. In the two-page Parrott deposition excerpt, he said that the net worth sweep was a “Treasury-driven process,” when asked why he didn’t reach out to anyone on Capitol Hill about the plan. He added that to the degree there was outreach to Congress, it would have come from Treasury, not him.