Consumers complained to the CFPB about debt collection issues at a substantially reduced level during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. During the period ending Dec. 31, 2015, consumer gripes were down 27.5 percent versus the previous quarter.Among the top 50 companies as ranked by consumer criticisms, 45 saw a double-digit percentage decline. Year over year, the story is less inspirational, with consumer kvetching down a mere 0.6 percent. Six companies saw complaints leap by triple digit percentages. To put some anecdotal flesh on these empirical bones, in the CFPB’s most recent supervisory highlights report, the bureau pointed out that during its examination of at least one debt collector, ...
Plurality Finds No Delays Because of TRID. The most recent online poll by Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliated publication, posed the following to respondents: “A lot has been written lately regarding loan closing delays tied to the new TRID rule. What’s been the average delay at your lending shop, if at all. (Report in business days, not calendar.)” Thirty percent selected “TRID has caused no delays because we were prepared.” Another 27 percent chose 1 to 4 days, 13 percent checked 5 to 10 days, and 11 percent selected “11 to 15 days. It’s been a nightmare.” Interestingly, 20 percent chose the final option: “We’re too embarrassed to tell you.” Uh-oh. ...
RamQuest-eLynx Integration Enhances TRID Compliance with Automated Data Flow Between Lenders and Settlement Agents. Texas-based RamQuest, a provider of comprehensive title and settlement services solutions, and Ohio-based eLynx, a provider of on-demand web-based compliance services, recently announced a product/service synchronization to help lender and settlement agent clients comply with the CFPB’s integrated disclosure rule known as TRID. “The integration enables lenders utilizing eLynx’s Expedite ID compliance solution to exchange property, fee and loan data electronically with thousands of settlement service providers using RamQuest,” the companies said. “This bi-directional exchange of data simplifies the collaboration required for lenders to generate the Closing Disclosure mandated by the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule.” ...
Candidate Clinton Wants to Defend the CFPB. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a neck-and-neck race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the White House with independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, vowed recently to defend the CFPB. In a package of proposals dubbed “Breaking Every Barrier Agenda: Revitalizing the Economy in Communities Left Behind,” the candidate said she believes “we must never again allow borrowers to be taken advantage of in the rush for corporate profits.” Clinton also pointed out that prior to the financial crisis, she pledged to create a Financial Product Safety Commission, as a counterpart to the CFPB, to crack down on abusive and predatory lenders and to protect consumers. ...
The False Claims Act could potentially apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans in the future, thanks to increased GSE cases and a broadened claim definition. The risk of the Department of Justice applying the FCA to GSE loans may seem remote, said Andrew Schilling, partner with BuckleySander LLP, but he isn’t counting it out. …
Mortgage originators selling loans into MBS last week likely were hit with “pair-off” fees from secondary-market investors who were expecting delivery of higher-yielding mortgages, a proposition complicated by the sudden downdraft in rates. As one secondary market executive noted: “A forward sale into an MBS is not a perfect hedge. Then again, nothing is a perfect hedge.” Originators that fund billions of dollars each quarter use...
Secondary market participants are once again urging government regulators to revise pending margin requirements for the to-be-announced MBS market, lest they negatively disrupt the space and possibly raise the cost of providing mortgage credit. At issue is SR-FINRA-2015-036, a proposal from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to establish margin requirements for the TBA market under FINRA Rule 4210. Previously, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association urged...
Issuers and investors involved in the securitization market are pushing the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to revise its proposed capital standards for “simple, transparent and comparable” securitization. The BCBS issued a proposal in November and the comment period closed this month. The Structured Finance Industry Group reiterated concerns about international regulatory efforts that will create a “patchwork” of standards and limit securitization, while others pushed back on the exclusion of synthetic transactions from the proposed criteria for STC transactions. “We continue...
The Bank of New York Mellon, acting as trustee, has petitioned the New York State Supreme Court for instructions for paying out Bank of America’s $8.5 billion cash settlement with Countrywide MBS investors, which could potentially alter the order of payment, according to an analysis by Moody’s Investors Service. The governing MBS documents and the settlement agreement are complicated, nuanced and ambiguous, the rating service noted. Without guidance from the state court, BNYM, as trustee for 530 RMBS trusts, could decide on a payout that could favor certain bondholders unexpectedly. The massive payout has been delayed...