H.R. 450: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Accountability Act, introduced by Rep. Bill Posey, R-FL, would amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to bring the CFPB into the regular appropriations process. The bill is a re-introduction of H.R. 1640 from the 112th Congress. Current status: referred to House Financial Services Committee. S. 190: The Restoring the Constitutional Balance of Power Act of 2013, introduced by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-NE, would prohibit the transfer of funds from the Federal Reserve that would be used by the CFPB “to carry out activities that are authorized...

Lending groups are urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to broaden classifications of “qualified mortgages” that it adopted in its final rule implementing ability-to-repay standards mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. The Mortgage Bankers Association said the interest-rate threshold for determining which loans are eligible for safe harbor provided to QM loans should be raised. The CFPB rule generally allows QM status for loans with annual percentage rates up to 1.5 percentage points higher than ...

A year ago, Wells Fargo had a stake in roughly 100 joint venture mortgage banking companies, mostly with real estate brokers. Today that number stands at 10 or so with some of the remaining JVs voicing concerns that the nation’s largest lender might pull the plug by the time 2013 ends. However, at least two Wells JVs – HomeServices Lending and Prosperity Mortgage – have been reassured by the bank that their relationships are on firm footing and they have nothing to worry about. Still, there is a growing concern among some JV partners that, in the words of one executive: “Wells is allocating resources away from JVs.” This source, who spoke under the condition his name and company not be published, said...

Federal regulators should consider aligning the pending risk retention rule’s “qualified residential mortgage” standard with the “qualified mortgage” standard under the ability‐to‐repay rule the CFPB finalized on Jan. 10, Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo said. Defining QRMs as QMs would eliminate the downpayment requirement initially proposed for QRMs and allow greater access to credit for borrowers than a more stringent QRM definition, he said at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on...

CFPB Remains on Radar of Hostile House GOP. The activities and influence of the CFPB will be a subject of keen interest to hostile Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee, according to the committee’s recently published agenda for the 113th Congress. The committee said it will scrutinize the CFPB’s regulatory, supervisory and enforcement initiatives to make sure they protect consumers against unfair and deceptive practices without stifling economic growth, job creation or reasonable access to credit. “In...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may run into budget pressures as it transitions from its start-up and rulemaking period to supervision and enforcement, all while policymakers struggle with spending restraints and Congressional Republicans continue to sharpen their CFPB axes in light of the Noel Canning v. National Labor Relations Board ruling, according to an industry consultant. If the bureau does need more funding, it might find its influence unexpectedly limited. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ Jan. 25 decision in Canning raises...

Look for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee under a Democrat majority to focus over the next two years on assuring a smooth implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, stabilizing the housing market and building a “bipartisan consensus” on housing finance reform, according to the committee’s chairman. “From protecting consumers and taxpayers from Wall Street abuses, to providing the Federal Housing Administration with additional tools to manage its finances while continuing to serve American families, I believe we can find common ground,” said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-SD, chairman. The committee will continue...

Federal regulators are almost finished writing a new risk-retention rule including a definition for “qualified residential mortgages,” according to Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo. The agencies appear to be considering looser standards for QRMs than those initially proposed in 2011, perhaps using the same “qualified mortgage” definition as in the recently finalized ability-to-repay rule. Tarullo said federal regulators had completed most of the risk-retention rulewriting and were waiting for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to finalize QM and ability-to-repay requirements, which the CFPB completed in January. “It really was having...

CFPB Director Richard Cordray told an assemblage of financial industry representatives last week that it would be a mistake for prudential regulators to examine institutions in such a way as to steer them toward providing only mortgages that can be defined as “qualified” under the bureau’s ability-to-repay rule, according to one industry source in attendance. Cordray said the CFPB wants other types of mortgages to flourish as well, the source continued. Bureau staff added that they would expect the percentage of QMs in the...

CFPB Warns Servicers to Protect Borrowers When Transferring Servicing. As Inside the CFPB went to press, the bureau issued a bulletin reminding mortgage servicers about their legal obligations to protect borrowers during transfers of mortgage servicing between firms. Through public feedback and its supervision activities, the CFPB said it has noted a significant number of servicing complications stemming from the large amount of servicing transfers that have taken place in the last year. In a number of instances...