The CFPB spent $299.76 million “in obligations” in fiscal year 2012, according to the bureau’s third semi-annual report to Congress, submitted late last month. Approximately $134 million of that was spent on employee compensation and benefits for the 970 employees on board at the bureau as of Sept. 30, 2012. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the CFPB had requested transfers from the Federal Reserve totaling $136.2 million to fund CFPB operations and activities for the first quarter of FY2013. These funds are held in an account for the bureau at...

The CFPB’s contract solicitation and selection processes are generally in compliance with federal regulation, but the bureau could do more to shore up internal controls, according to the results of an evaluation by the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General.“We found that the CFPB’s processes and practices were compliant with particular Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements, such as performing acquisition planning and market research, providing opportunities for companies to compete for CFPB contracts, and...

Two major auto dealer trade groups have some serious objections to the guidance the CFPB put out last month on auto lending, particularly taking issue with whether the CFPB’s position on dealer rate participation is going to make much difference in helping car buyers. The National Automobile Dealers Association and the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers said the guidance issued by the bureau attempts to force auto finance sources into changing the way they compensate dealers without any indication that...

The CFPB is going to release its first substantive guides to the mortgage rulemakings it issued earlier this year, according to the text of an email that the bureau sent to industry groups last week but otherwise did not announced publicly. The National Association of Independent Housing Professionals is shopping around on Capitol Hill some new appraisal rules that would include the establishment of a hotline with the CFPB. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions made a fresh appeal to Senate leadership for relief from...

New Treasury Secretary Jack Lew chaired the regularly scheduled meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, of which the CFPB is a member, in a closed session at Treasury last week. The CFPB, which is using the disparate-impact standard as the basis of its actions, is assigning a fair lending staffer to every supervision exam; conducting fair lending investigations; and striking alliances with the Department of Justice, as well as the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other regulators, we’ve been told...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced enforcement actions on Wednesday against four private mortgage insurers left standing after the financial market collapse, putting the squeeze on the industry’s use of captive reinsurance arrangements, which ceased when the financial markets collapsed, and fining the four companies relatively small, token amounts.

Bank of America agreed to a $165.0 million settlement with the National Credit Union Administration this week regarding non-agency mortgage-backed securities purchased by credit unions that subsequently failed. BofA did not admit fault as part of the settlement. The NCUA has received more than $335.0 million in non-agency MBS settlements with five firms and has similar lawsuits pending against nine other firms. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors ... [Includes three briefs]

Reaction to a report about Obama administration efforts to get banks to increase their purchase mortgage lending, particularly through the FHA, has ranged from supportive to dire warnings of déjà vu. Apparently, administration officials are trying to push banks to make more loans to qualified lower-income borrowers as well as minority and first-time homebuyers who have been shut out of the mortgage market because of stringent credit overlays. The report, which ran in the April 2 Washington Post, described the targeted borrowers as “people with weaker credit,” which, for some, conjures up the ...

The FHA is seeking comment on a proposal to change the period for reviewing loans for direct endorsement from pre- to post-closing in order to increase the number of acceptable loans and, therefore, reduce any potential risk to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Under the proposal, a lender applying for unconditional direct endorsement authority would be required to submit the necessary loan files only after closing. After determining that the mortgage is acceptable and meets all FHA requirements, the agency would notify the lender that the loan has been endorsed. Current regulations provide for ...

Borrowers rushing to get their purchase-mortgage applications submitted before FHA’s higher annual mortgage insurance premiums took hold April 1 helped boost total purchase applications last week, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 29 showed a surge in purchase applications for government loans. The surge, fueled mostly by FHA applicants, helped boost the total number of purchase applications received by lenders during the period. “Total purchase applications increased last week, due to an almost ...