In a sign of just how serious the CFPB is about steering and loan-compensation issues, the bureau last week pressed Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC into a settlement involving $9 million in restitution and $4 million in civil penalties to resolve allegations the firm and two of its executives paid illegal bonuses for steering consumers into costlier mortgages. The CFPB alleged that Castle & Cooke, through actions taken by its president, Matthew Pineda, and senior vice-president of capital markets, Buck Hawkins, violated the...

Once again, the Supreme Court of the United States has been denied an opportunity to weigh in and potentially set a national standard over the question of whether disparate impact cases can be brought under the Fair Housing Act, and perhaps the Equal Credit Opportunity Act as well. Late last week – just three weeks before oral arguments were set to be presented to the nation’s highest court – the Mount Holly town council voted to approve the settlement in Township of Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc. The case...

The CFPB’s much-anticipated integrated mortgage disclosure final rule and related forms could be issued as early as Wednesday, Nov. 20, when the bureau plans to conduct a public field hearing in Boston on the mortgage aspect of its broader “know before you owe” initiative. The event will feature remarks by CFPB Director Richard Cordray and testimony from consumer groups, industry representatives and members of the public. The purpose of the forthcoming rule and forms is to integrate and harmonize the mortgage disclosures consumers receive...

One tidbit in the CFPB’s latest semi-annual report to Congress reveals that the bureau plans to “propose additional rules to further define the scope of the bureau’s nonbank supervision.” On July 3, 2013, the CFPB issued a final rule establishing procedures to implement Dodd-Frank Act Section 1024(a)(1)(C). “Under this rule, the bureau may bring under its supervisory authority certain nonbanks the bureau has reasonable cause to determine are or have engaged in activities posing risks to consumers in connection with the...

Days after taking heat from critical members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee over the bureau’s increased attention to potential discrimination involving the provision of auto lending, CFPB Director Richard Cordray remained steadfast to his agency’s mission in this regard. “If anyone is uncertain about our resolve, let me do my best to dispel that uncertainty this morning,” Cordray said during an auto finance forum last week. “We will make every effort to do the job that Congress has set out for us, which...

The CFPB has begun the formal process that would result in a consumer protection rulemaking for the debt-collection market. The bureau issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to collect information on a wide array of related issues, including the accuracy of information used by debt collectors, how to ensure consumers know their rights, and the communication tactics collectors employ to recover debts. Among the CFPB’s points of emphasis was information accuracy. The agency said it is concerned that debt collectors may...

Following a report on the subject in the spring, the CFPB has begun receiving consumer complaints about payday lending. “We’ve heard from people who like the ease of obtaining a payday loan when they need to avoid paying their bills late,” said CFPB Chief of Staff Scott Pluta. “Many other people have raised concerns about the high cost of payday loans, not being able to repay the payday loan while still having enough money left for other expenses, and the debt collection practices they encounter if they can’t repay the loan.” Consumers...

The CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule and qualified mortgage standard will have wide-reaching implications for both the primary and secondary U.S. mortgage markets, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. The ATR rule, which goes into effect Jan. 10, 2014, was drafted to protect borrowers by ensuring that lenders have adequately assessed a borrower’s ability to repay a residential mortgage loan. As a result, “creditors will need to adjust underwriting practices to conform to new QM guidelines and new practices will need to be created and...

Lenders that were secretly hoping CFPB Director Richard Cordray might leave the bureau and run for public office again are out of luck. He’s not going anywhere for the foreseeable future – which means for at least the next five years. Last week, Cordray put to rest those on-again, off-again rumors that he might leave the bureau and return to his home state of Ohio to run for state office. The CFPB director said he dismissed any thoughts along such lines after he was confirmed by the Senate in July after more than a year of partisan...

The Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General is keeping a close watch on the CFPB as it continues to bolster its operational safeguards, Inspector General Mark Bialek said in the OIG’s recent semi-annual report to Congress. “The CFPB is continuing to develop policies, procedures, and other safeguards around its operations,” the IG said. “In its strategic plan, the CFPB has specifically indicated that it will focus on working to ensure ‘effective and efficient management, protection of the CFPB resources, rigorous...