House Rules Committee Expected to Clear Legislation to Tweak Points and Fees Definition under the ATR Rule. The House Rules Committee is expected to clear sometime this week H.R. 1153, “The Mortgage Choice Act,” legislation that would make two adjustments to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) definition of points and fees to ensure greater consumer choice in mortgage and settlement services under the ability-to-repay/qualified mortgage rule.... OIG Has Mixed News for CFPB on Mobile Device Data Security. The CFPB got a dinged report card from the Office of Inspector General in terms of the security of mobile technology that bureau staff use. “Mobile devices help CFPB staff carry out their duties, but the portability of these devices heightens the risk of loss or theft of IT equipment and data,” said the OIG in explaining its motivation for evaluating the CFPB’s mobile encryption practices....

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last year logged 988 servicemember complaints related to the origination and servicing of VA and FHA mortgages. CFPB data showed VA outscored FHA on the number of complaints, 740 to 248, respectively, in 2017. The top five reasons for servicemember complaints were trouble during the payment process, difficulty in paying the mortgage, loan servicing, applying for a purchase mortgage or refinance, and closing a loan. Other complaints were about loan modification and foreclosure, mortgage brokers, incorrect information, settlement process and costs, underwriting/credit decision, credit-reporting company’s investigation of a consumer problem, and improper use of a credit report. Abusive practices related to loan churning might not be reflected clearly in servicemembers’ complaints in 2017 compared to the previous year, but a deeper dive into the ... [Chart]

The CFPB has decided to abandon its pursuit of a group of payday lenders it had accused of misleading consumers about the true extent of the costs associated with its loans, which purportedly carried interest rates as high as 950 percent a year. The agency gave no explanation about its decision to reverse course. An interesting twist is that payday lenders are generally regulated at the state level, and since the lenders in this case happen to be associated with a Native American tribe, they can argue that state laws do not apply to them. Payday Lending Rule Kaput? Also last week, the CFPB indicated it might just deep-six its controversial payday lending rule. “Jan. 16, 2018, is the effective ...

Consumer complaints overall continued their downward trajectory in the fourth quarter, but it was a different story when it came to areas such as student loans and credit reports, both of which shot upwards on an annual basis. Overall, total gripes from end users of the financial system fell 24.1 percent year over year and 23.1 percent from the third quarter of 2017 to the fourth. But criticisms about student loans surged 109.9 percent on an annual basis, despite a drop of 30.1 percent from 3Q17 to 4Q17. Credit reports were similarly slammed, with a 99.8 percent leap in complaints year over year, a 32.2 percent fall off quarter to quarter notwithstanding. On the other hand [includes exclusive data chart] ...

A recent report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that payment reduction was the most effective form of post-crisis loan modification, and a 10 percent drop in the mortgage payment lowered default rates by 22 percent.

The CFPB made a big splash last week – perhaps the last of Richard Cordray’s career at the helm – by issuing its long-awaited payday lending final rule. Many observers watching the director for signs he will resign to run for governor of Ohio have speculated he has been hanging on at the bureau until this rule was formally promulgated. Now that it has been issued, the Cordray departure watch will resume. Under the new rule, there’s a full-payment test. Lenders are required to determine whether the borrower can afford the loan payments and still meet basic living expenses and major financial obligations. For payday and auto title loans that are due in one lump sum, full payment means “being able to ...

Consumer complaints to the CFPB about credit reports jumped in the third quarter, during which the massive Equifax data breach occurred, and year over year, according to a new analysis by Inside the CFPB. Gripes to the bureau leapt by 53.4 percent from the second quarter to the third, our analysis found, and skyrocketed 86.2 percent from year-ago levels. Criticisms about credit reports went from 12,830 in the first quarter of 2017 to 19,685 in the second, to 29,466 in the third. And it may get worse before it gets better, as the bad news about the Equifax hack makes its way further into the general population.Equifax-related complaints rose 131.2 percent during the period ending ... [With exclusive data]

Social Finance, a former fintech darling, has been through the ringer of late: cofounder, CEO and “brain” Michael Cagney resigned midmonth amid sexual harassment allegations and other top executives have departed as well, raising questions about the company’s direction – and future. SoFi, as it’s known, was a “disruptor” of sorts in the financial services arena, refinancing student loans made to millennials at cheaper rates and then securitizing the paper. Over the past 18 months, the privately held startup has been...

S&P Global ranked as the top rating service in the non-mortgage ABS market during the first half of 2017, with strong market shares in the major asset categories, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside MBS & ABS. S&P rated $69.54 billion of ABS issued in the first half of the year, roughly 60.1 percent of total issuance by dollar volume. For all of 2016, the company finished second in ABS ratings with a 53.6 percent share of the market. S&P had...[Includes two data tables]

A previously obscure FHA program for properties in designated disaster areas is getting more interest from lenders in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. According to FHA data, there has been a noticeable increase in loans originated under the FHA 203(h) mortgage insurance program, which is designed specifically for hard-hit homeowners in presidentially declared major disaster areas (PDMDA). Origination under the 203(h) program rose from $17.8 million in 2015 to $64.1 million in 2017, data showed. Use of the 203(h) product spiked in the fourth quarter of 2016, when 180 loans totaling $34.0 million were originated, up from 47 in the previous quarter and 26 loans from the same period in 2015. The U.S. experienced more floods in 2016, 19 in all, than any year on record, according to an analysis by Munich Re, a global reinsurance firm. In post-hurricane guidance, FHA urged lenders to ...