Fair lending in the mortgage servicing context has become an area of regulatory interest especially when dealing with disabled borrowers and those with limited English proficiency, compliance professionals said at the recent American Bankers Association’s regulatory compliance conference in Nashville.

The CFPB recently dropped its RESPA-related investigation of Zillow, deciding not to bring enforcement charges against the online real estate database firm, according to a new public filing. At issue was Zillow’s co-marketing program, which allows real estate agents and lenders to advertise together on the firm’s website. As part of the launch, Zillow had boasted that its “premier agents” can invite lenders to share marketing costs. “Lenders get featured next to the agents on Zillow ...

The CFPB asked Citibank to pay $335 million to credit card customers who did not receive legally mandated interest rate reductions as part of a recent legal settlement, but the agency – interestingly – did not fine the bank for its misconduct. The bureau said it did not assess civil money penalties based on the fact that “Citibank self-identified and self-reported the violations to the bureau, and self-initiated remediation on affected consumers.” It’s not the first time the ...

The CFPB announced it will release guidance later this summer to provide exemptions to smaller financial institutions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The regulatory relief comes from the Dodd-Frank reform act – the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act – signed into law in May. The new law exempts depository institutions and credit unions that originated fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans or 500 open-end lines of ...

Industry groups are calling on the CFPB to provide clarification of fair lending standards under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act as it applies to disparate impact, according to recently filed comment letters on inherited regulations. Among other things, lenders are asking the CFPB to review its use of disparate impact based on a Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Inclusive Communities. The case established a framework for the application of disparate impact ...

CFPB Studies How Student Loan Borrowers Transition Out Of Debt. The CFPB recently issued a report on student loan payments and broader household borrowing. The report provides a close look at borrowers’ use of credit as they approach and make their final student loan payments and what follows in the months beyond. One key finding: Most borrowers pay off a student loan before the final installment is due, often with a single large payment. Further [Includes Four Briefs] ...

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are relying more heavily on special rules that grant most of their single-family business qualified-mortgage status even if the debt-to-income ratio of the loan exceeds 43 percent. [Includes two data charts.]

Starwood Property Trust announced this week that it agreed to purchase up to $600.0 million of non-qualified mortgages originated by Impac Mortgage Holdings in the next 12 months. The real estate investment trust also revealed that it has already acquired $900.0 million of non-QMs from Impac. “We are excited to formalize our partnership with Impac, which we believe will help scale our opportunity to provide non-QM loans to high-quality borrowers while sourcing ...

The credit risk profile of incoming FHA business has shifted significantly since the beginning of last year, according to a new Inside FHA/VA Lending analysis of Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities data. The biggest development has been the growth of loans with high debt-to-income ratios. There has also been a significant increase in the share of refinance loans that are cash-out transactions. FHA officials are well aware of these developments, having publicly mentioned them in testimony on Capitol Hill and at industry conferences. Officials have also raised concerns about FHA loans with downpayment assistance, although the MBS data don’t seem to indicate that there has been much change on that score. Among FHA loans endorsed in April and May, only 41.9 percent were at or below the benchmark DTI test for qualified mortgages, which is 43 percent. Through 2015 and 2016, well over half of new ... [Chart]