The CFPB can do a better job with its contract management processes and related controls, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Federal Reserve and CFPB said in a new report. One problem detected was that certain payments did not conform to federal guidelines. “In general, we found the CFPB to be in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and CFPB policies and procedures, although we noted that certain contract management controls could have been improved in three contracts among the 29 contracts in our sample,” the report stated. The three contracts represented $6.2 million out of the OIG sample’s total value of $166 million. “In the first contract, the CFPB made payments that did not conform to the contract ...
Consumer complaints to the CFPB about credit reporting were down slightly from the first quarter and up modestly at the mid-year mark versus a year ago, according to an analysis by Inside the CFPB. However, some dramatic differences were in play among the top 10 subjects of complaints. The most notable exception to the overall moderate trend line was sixth-ranked CoreLogic, which saw consumer gripes skyrocket an eye-popping 900.0 percent at the six-month mark compared to 2014. LexisNexis was also bad, with a 241.7 percent leap during the same time period. And Early Warning Services turned in the third-worst performance among the top 10, demonstrating a 100.0 percent increase in consumer criticisms. Overall, however, the results were far tamer. First ...
The CFPB’s Office of Human Capital does not always follow the control activities it established to enforce management’s directives when it comes to recruiting and selecting employees, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Federal Reserve and CFPB. Further, “Although recent OHC initiatives have strengthened control activities, we found that OHC’s internal controls can be further enhanced,” said the OIG. For example, the CFPB can improve its ability to track and measure the timeliness of its hiring, as well as monitor recruitment and selection activities for potential deficiencies. The OIG then cited the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, which state that internal control contributes to management’s ...
Mortgage lending industry representatives called on the CFPB to establish a range of data safeguards if the agency intends to proceed with its expressed interest in “normalizing” its consumer complaint data.For the bureau’s purposes, “normalizing” the data refers to ways in which the agency could take the raw data it receives from its consumer complaint online portal and transform it to make it meaningful and useful to the general public.In commenting on the bureau’s recently released request for information on the subject, the American Bankers Association said it generally supports the concept and objective of providing context for the data. However, it “does not believe that any normalization strategy should proceed unless and until the bureau adopts measures ...
The requirements associated with the CFPB’s pending TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule will likely prompt a majority of Realtors to alter their purchase contracts, according to the results of a new survey from the National Association of Realtors. “When asked about their plans to deal with the new TRID rules, 55.9 percent of Realtors plan to change their purchase agreements to reflect a longer timeline, while 31.2 percent will add contingencies to the contract,” the survey said. Also, 37.0 percent of respondents indicated they have put together plans with their lender or title company to help even out the process, while a significant share plan to perform final inspections earlier (32.5 percent) or will provide contracts and amendments to the ...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the CFPB on its interpretation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, but refused to “give deference” to the amicus brief in which the bureau’s argument was presented. “Here, CFPB is interpreting the statute, not the regulation. An agency’s interpretation of the statute – when presented in an amicus brief – is not promulgated in the exercise of its formal rulemaking authority, so no … deference is warranted,” ruled the court. Further, even if certain terms in the statute also appear in the regulation, the CFPB “is in fact interpreting Congress’s words in the statute, so we give no deference to CFPB’s interpretation,” the court said. “In addition, because the statutory terms at issue ...
Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are returning to Washington, DC, this week, after their August recess concluded with the Labor Day holiday weekend. That means mortgage industry officials have less than one month to convince Congress and the Obama administration to sign off on regulatory relief from the CFPB’s pending TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, which kicks in Oct. 3, 2015. Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association began a grass-roots lobbying campaign urging its members to get in touch with their respective members of Congress to support legislation that would establish a temporary enforcement grace period and legal safe harbor under the TRID. “A temporary legal safe harbor for lenders will ensure the new requirements are ...
Another Cut in FHA Premiums Coming This Winter? Will the FHA take the bold step of cutting annual mortgage insurance premiums this winter? It’s an intriguing question posed by Capital Alpha Partners. The research firm, in a new report, quotes what it calls a “reliable FHA bull” who “presciently foresaw” the last premium cut. Alpha cautions that its source on the matter is not betting on such a move, but raises the possibility “that the tumblers could fall into place once again.” One possible catalyst for an MIP cut would be poor results from a forthcoming Home Mortgage Disclosure Act report that shows FHA as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not serving low-income borrowers very well. In January 2015, FHA implemented a half-percent reduction in annual mortgage insurance premiums. At the time, the Department of Housing and Urban Development predicted that 250,000 new homeowners would ...
The VA Home Loan Guaranty Program has issued guidance to clarify the notification requirement applicable to all holders of VA repurchase and mobile-home mortgage loans. Under existing regulation, holders of VA repurchase and mobile-home loans are required to report to the Department of Veterans Affairs any event that leads to the full payment of a VA-backed loan. The guidance requires all holders to report the status of all VA repurchase and mobile-home mortgages upon full satisfaction of the loan. All notifications must be sent directly to the chief of contract assurance at nashpm.vbaco@va.gov. For further questions, contact Ronnie Lamb at ...
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