Last year, House appropriators turned down a request that would have allowed the FHA to charge a fee of 2 to 4 basis points to lenders prospectively...
One of the biggest knocks on PHH Mortgage is that it has little in the way of traditional retail, relying instead on private label partners like Merrill Lynch.
The CFPB brought the hammer down on a handful of nonbank mortgage companies in the last two weeks over advertising practices the bureau asserts are deceptive and misleading because, in three of the cases, the lenders allegedly implied U.S. government approval of their products or otherwise suggested the companies were agencies of the federal government when in point of fact they were not. The actions are a confirmation to the industry that lenders don’t have to be big players with deep pockets or even depository institutions to earn the bureau’s wrath. They are also a big wake-up call in terms of compliance. “For decades, many lenders which have used direct mail to market to consumers have emphasized the government-insured nature ...
Despite the comparatively small staff of examiners at the CFPB – close to 500 – Deputy Director Steven Antonakes said in a speech last week that his staff is an “x-factor,” in that the bureau works closely with other state and federal exam teams to leverage its resources. In military terms, that’s known as a force multiplier. “The bureau does not have a safety and soundness mandate. Nevertheless, we very much care about the financial health of banks and nonbanks,” Antonakes said. “As a veteran of two banking crises, I can tell you unequivocally that, in my view, consumer protection is not in conflict with safety and soundness. Consumers benefit from a healthy, competitive, and diversified financial services system through greater access ...
Reining in the cost of compliance with the CFPB’s various rulemakings was on the minds and lips of regulators and industry representatives alike at the recent ABS Vegas conference sponsored by the Structured Finance Industry Group and Information Management Network. Thomas Glanfield, president and CEO of Boston Portfolio Advisors, a consulting firm that works with mortgage lenders and servicers, was among those who raised concerns about the costs associated with compliance. “The cost to 99 percent of the industry has been noticeably higher than expected, especially when you’re trying to get one percent of the industry up to standards,” he said. Glanfield also noted there has been a lack of clarity on some rules from the CFPB, which he said ...
In an unannounced development late last week, the CFPB granted an industry request to tweak its pending integrated disclosure rule by issuing a final rule allowing a three-business-day window for lenders to revise a loan estimate form. This is longer than the one-day window that was proposed back in October and the same-day requirement included in the original mortgage disclosure rule under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The bureau received comments from industry trade associations, creditors, technology vendors, and other industry representatives addressing the proposed change. All comments supported the proposal to relax the timing requirement, but most advocated extending it to three business days. Most commenters argued that a next-business-day requirement presents ...
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