Two public interest groups recently asked the CFPB’s inspector general to open an investigation into Acting Director Mick Mulvaney’s relationship with the payday lending industry. Americans for Financial Reform and Change to Win requested the IG, Mark Bialek, investigate whether Mulvaney has violated ethics regulations governing the conduct of executive branch employees by giving preferential treatment to the payday lending industry. Americans for Financial Reform ...

The Federal Reserve Board recently reminded banks that redlining remains a compliance concern for the central bank. Redlining is a form of illegal discrimination in which a financial services institution provides unequal access to credit in certain markets based on the race, color or national origin of its residents. The CFPB in the past has brought several public enforcement actions for redlining. The Fed released its Consumer Compliance Supervision Bulletin ...

The CFPB recently announced plans to create a “regulatory sandbox” to encourage consumer-friendly innovation in financial services. The mortgage industry sees it as an opportunity to enhance the emerging niche of loans that fall outside the qualified mortgage standard. “I’m optimistic,” said Justin Wiseman, an associate vice president at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “I think [the plan is] broadly beneficial across the mortgage market … one area that might ...

House Bill Would Strengthen Online Credit Card Disclosures. Rep. David Price, D-NC, recently introduced the Online Credit Card Disclosure Act, legislation which would require credit card companies to inform consumers about the risks associated with minimum debt payments by regularly publishing clear, personalized pay-down disclosures online, including websites and mobile apps. “As more and more Americans handle their financial affairs [Includes three briefs] ...

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have the Treasury Department’s support when it comes to appraisal waivers, according to a newly published report this week from the Treasury on nonbank financials, fintech and innovation. A portion of the report focused on updating activity-specific regulations under the realm of lending and servicing. Treasury explained that it supports the GSEs’ efforts to implement standardized appraisal reporting, their adoption of proprietary electronic portals to submit appraisal forms and the GSEs’ limited adoption of appraisal waivers. The report acknowledged concerns from the appraisal industry but touted the benefits of using the waivers. “While Treasury acknowledges that

The denial rate on mortgage applications calculated solely from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data provides a misleading measure of credit availability, according to industry analysts. Analysts from the Urban Institute and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. authored a paper suggesting that the attributes of loan applicants should be taken into consideration when determining denial rates. “Higher denial rates can be the result of either a tighter credit environment or an increase in ...

Lenders will be asking the Department of Housing and Urban Development to clarify the eligibility of borrowers with deferred immigration status for an FHA-insured loan. A mortgage industry trade group is currently drafting a letter on “a series of technical FHA handbook recommendations,” including greater clarity on loan applications submitted by borrowers registered under the government’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA status was offered to children who were brought illegally into the U.S. by their parents or guardians but have been in the country for most of their lives. The program was created by the Obama administration as a way for recipients to work legally in the country while Congress could agree on what to do with them. The program faces uncertainty after President Trump rescinded it in September last year as part of his administration’s zero-tolerance immigration ...

After months of gathering and reviewing comments on credit-scoring options, the Federal Housing Finance Agency abruptly called off its plan to announce new guidelines for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by the end of this year. The two major credit-score providers aren’t happy with the news.

During a heated hearing last week on Capitol Hill, the nominee to become the next CFPB director, Kathy Kraninger, identified some of her broad priorities for the consumer agency if she gets the job. Kraninger appeared to embrace the industry-friendly approach for the bureau that has been set by her boss at the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, who is also the acting director at the CFPB. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, said Kraninger showed a philosophy ...

The CFPB last week named Paul Watkins, a lawyer in the Arizona attorney general’s office who helped establish a “regulatory sandbox” for the state, to lead the agency’s new Office of Innovation. Watkins was chief counsel for the Arizona AG’s 150-person Civil Litigation Division, which enforces state law related to consumer fraud, antitrust and other issues. He managed the nation’s first facility aimed at reducing compliance costs and burdens for new fintech ...