It looks like the CFPB might be contemplating new disclosures for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, otherwise known as reverse mortgages. The agenda for the Nov. 2 meeting of the bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board, which was posted online recently, indicates the panel “will discuss Know Before You Owe: Reverse Mortgages, financial well-being, trends and themes, and payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans.” The use of the phrase “Know Before You Owe” suggests a new disclosure regime for reverse mortgages could be in the offing. The CAB meeting announcement also indicates that written comments will be accepted from interested members of the public. They should be sent to CFPB_CABandCouncilsEvents@cfpb.gov at least seven days before the meeting. “The comments will be ...

Complaints consumers made to the CFPB about their mortgages fell in every single category tracked during the third quarter of 2017, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB, further evidence of the recovery underway in the market. In fact, the sole category that saw an increase on a year-over-year basis was the loan application/ origination grouping, which was still at elevated levels after a surge in the first quarter, possibly due to issues associated with the implementation of the integrated disclosure rule. Total criticisms fell by 21.2 percent from the second quarter to the third, and by 27.7 percent from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. [With exclusive data] ...

Republicans Take Issue With Fannie/Freddie QM Exemption. Some Congressional Republicans recently expressed concerns about the special treatment that loans eligible for sale to the government-sponsored enterprises currently enjoy under the CFPB’s qualified mortgage standards.... CFPB Updates HMDA Implementation Materials, Filing Instructions Guide. As part of its effort to support the industry’s adoption of the CFPB’s recently issued 2017 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act final rule, the bureau has updated the chart titled: Collection and Reporting of HMDA Information about Ethnicity and Race.... Other Federal Regulators Issue Designated Key HMDA Data Fields List. The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last week jointly issued ...

Ginnie Mae issuers rode a wave of purchase-mortgage lending to deliver $120.46 billion of forward mortgages during the third quarter of 2017, the highest three-month volume for the year, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside FHA/VA Lending. Third-quarter volume was up 9.6 percent from the April-June cycle. The data excluded FHA reverse mortgages and loan amounts are truncated in Ginnie’s mortgage-backed securities disclosures. Without those limitations, total Ginnie MBS issuance rose 9.5 percent to $123.37 billion in the third quarter. Purchase mortgages were the engine behind the growth. Ginnie issuers securitized $85.35 billion of purchase loans in the third quarter, falling just short of the record $85.41 billion set in the third quarter of last year. Although most Ginnie purchase loans (58.7 percent) were FHA loans, the biggest increase was in such loans guaranteed by the ... [Charts]

Ginnie Mae and the VA this week officially announced a joint-agency task force to deal with the loan-churning problem that is triggering faster prepayments in Ginnie mortgage-backed securities pools. Specifically, the task force will scrutinize aggressive and misleading refinancing offers and address loan churning and repeated refinancings. It will also examine critical issues, data and lender behaviors related to refinancing loans, as well as determine the kind of policy and program changes agencies should make to ensure VA refi loans do not pose an undue risk or burden to vets and taxpayers. Both the VA and Ginnie Mae programs work best when market participants use them to provide a benefit to VA borrowers and, ultimately, lower vet’s costs, officials said. The task force has begun examining data and information to ensure refi loans provide net tangible benefits to veteran-borrowers. In addition, the ...

The FHA has updated its guidelines for Home Equity Conversion Mortgage for Purchase (H4P) loans to allow lenders to accept loan applications from borrowers without requiring a certificate of occupancy, as well as prior to completion of HECM counseling. The change follows the Sept. 19 effective date of the HECM final rule, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development released earlier this year. The final rule codifies the many policies that are now in place for originating and servicing reverse mortgages, including H4P requirements. According to the revised guideline, an FHA lender may take an initial HECM loan application either prior to or after the completion of HECM counseling. Also, previously, H4P properties were eligible for FHA insurance only when construction was completed and when the local jurisdiction issued a certificate of occupancy or its equivalent, confirming the ...

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is discontinuing its quarterly newsletter, Lender Insight, with the implementation of FHA’s Loan Review System. The change is aimed at improving both FHA’s and lenders’ quality-control and risk-management operations. HUD will be publishing a quarterly Loan Review Summary Report to provide a snapshot of the results of FHA’s quality-control review of mortgage originations over the preceding 12 months. According to HUD, the report will include only underwritten loans that were subject to a post-endorsement technical review. It does not include the results of lenders’ self-reports or any other loans that were reviewed as part of a lender examination, the agency said. The report will show the initial rating of all loans, the updated rating six months from the end of the review period, and a final rating. The “final” rating is subject to change as long as ...

The CFPB last week issued an interim final rule to give mortgage servicers more flexibility to communicate with homeowners at risk of foreclosure. “Today’s action should make it easier for mortgage borrowers to receive timely information from their mortgage servicers about available options for saving their home, even if they have submitted a request to cease communication,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. In 2016, the bureau made changes to its rules to require servicers to send modified early intervention notices to certain borrowers at risk of foreclosure who asked for an end to communication under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Under the FDCPA, borrowers can tell their servicers to stop contacting them, with some limited exceptions. Once such borrowers ...

The CFPB issued a proposed rule last week to provide more certainty for mortgage servicers about when to provide periodic statements to consumers in connection with their bankruptcy cases. The consumer bureau said it is proposing amendments to certain mortgage servicing rules issued in 2016 under Regulation Z (which implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) relating to the timing for servicers to transition to providing modified or unmodified periodic statements and coupon books in connection with a borrower’s bankruptcy case. Among other things, the 2016 mortgage servicing final rule addresses Reg Z’s periodic statement and coupon book requirements when a person is a debtor in bankruptcy. It includes a single-billing-cycle exemption from the requirement to provide a periodic statement ...

Ocwen Financial, the once high-flying non-bank mortgage servicer, has brought to 15 the number of states it has reached settlements with to resolve allegations its compliance with laws and regulations related to its mortgage servicing and lending activities was deficient. Last week, Ocwen settled with New Mexico, Virginia and West Virginia. Late last month, it entered into agreements with 10 other states: Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Nevada and Indiana previously either withdrew or allowed their respective cease-and-desist orders to expire. Per the settlements, Ocwen will not acquire any new residential mortgage servicing rights until April 30, 2018. Also, the nonbank will develop a plan of action and milestones regarding its transition ...