Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their government conservator are all calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to amend proposed changes to its mortgage servicing rule because certain provisions would inhibit similar servicing goals put forth by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In a comment letter, the FHFA said its servicing alignment initiative has pushed for improved practices that are similar to the goals of the CFPB rule, but “several provisions in the recently proposed amendments would actually make those goals more difficult to achieve.” The four areas of the CFPB proposal that are especially important cover...
The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is pressing the Treasury Department to focus on servicer actions as part of efforts to reduce re-default rates in the Home Affordable Modification Program. The Treasury has pushed back against the suggestions, stating that it is “always looking to improve the program.” In a report published last week, the SIGTARP said HAMP mods have re-defaulted at an “alarming” rate. As of the end of April, the re-default rate on HAMP mods completed in 2009 was 46 percent and the re-default rate for HAMP mods completed in 2010 was 38 percent. “While HAMP has helped...
The Federal Housing Finance Agency withdrew a proposed rule it was forced to issue regarding Property Assessed Clean Energy programs after prevailing in court.
The CFPB filed a civil suit last week against Castle & Cooke Mortgage and two top executives, accusing the Utah-based nonbank of illegally giving bonuses to loan officers who steered consumers into mortgages with higher interest rates. Overall, the firm paid 500 quarterly bonuses – roughly $4 million in compensation – to its retail loan officers, based on a compensation structure that rewarded them for bringing in mortgages at higher note rates, the government charges.In its suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District...
Two targets of the CFPB’s recent crackdown on the debt relief industry sued the bureau in federal district court in Washington, DC, last week, challenging the constitutionality of the agency, as well as accusing it of “data mining” and attempting to obtain sensitive bankruptcy information protected by attorney-client privilege. At the heart of the dispute is a civil investigative demand the CFPB issued in March 2012 to Morgan Drexen Integrated Systems, whose personnel served as paralegals and other support staff for Connecticut...
Complaints consumers had about their mortgages dropped across the board – loan application and origination, servicing, and modification – during the second quarter of the year, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. Our review of the second-quarter data based on complaints filed with the CFPB showed that gripes about loan modifications dropped the most during the period, down 10.3 percent. Servicing-related grievances fell 6.5 percent from the first quarter, while complaints about the loan application and origination process...
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