The CFPB last week filed an administrative consent order against a former Wells Fargo employee, for running an alleged illegal mortgage “fee-shifting” scheme, fining him $85,000 and banning him from working in the mortgage industry for a year. The bureau accused David Eghbali, formerly a loan officer for the Wilshire Crescent Wells Fargo branch in Beverly Hills, CA, of referring a substantial number of loan closings to a single escrow company, New Millennium Escrow, Inc., which allegedly shifted its fees from some customers to others at his request. “While employed by Wells Fargo from November 2007 through July 2015, in connection with originating federally related mortgage loans to consumers primarily for personal, family or household purposes, respondent provided real-estate settlement ...

The CFPB’s pending Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule significantly expands the industry’s data-reporting requirements – and the risk of possible disclosure of a borrower’s personal information along with it – something the bureau still has not addressed to the industry’s satisfaction, according to one top attorney. “The implementation date of the rule is fast approaching and the mortgage industry still has not received any answers in regards to their data privacy concerns,” Craig Nazzaro, of counsel in the Atlanta office of the Baker Donelson law firm, said in a blog posting earlier this month. He noted that mortgage industry representatives have repeatedly raised their privacy concerns about the new rule with the bureau. However, “the CFPB has thus far avoided addressing these ...

A handful of industry groups told the CFPB last week that the agency’s recent report on consumer testing of periodic statements for homeowners who have filed a bankruptcy petition is of limited usefulness without a full-fledged regulation to review at the same time. The testing itself was inadequate as well. “While we appreciate the opportunity to comment on the testing, we note that the statements have only limited meaning without their accompanying regulation,” said the Consumer Mortgage Coalition, the Credit Union National Association, and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, in conjunction with the Mortgage Servicers Working Group. They said that, in several areas, they were unable to understand what the statements reflect because they did not have an ...

More Gripes About TRID Dribble In. After what seemed like a lull in hearing complaints from lenders regarding the integrated disclosure rule known as TRID, the gripes are picking up again. At least that’s what we detected from some originators a few days ago. One loan broker who works the southern California market said she’s been telling some clients that it will take an extra seven days to close. “It was 15 before wholesale caught up, but now they’re behind again due to heavy sales volume.” Broker Slams Bureau’s Complaint Database. While he was running for a House seat in West Virginia, mortgage trade group president Marc Savitt was mostly quiet on issues tied to the CFPB. But now that ...

Investors who are suing the government over the terms of the conservatorships of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said the 53 documents recently made public solidify their claim that the government-sponsored enterprises had plenty of capital and a government bailout was unnecessary. The Treasury Department provided the documents to plaintiffs last week as part of a court case in Kentucky. “The newly de-designated documents also suggest...

A heated partisan debate broke out during a House subcommittee hearing late last week on whether multi-billion dollar settlements designed to resolve legacy MBS cases undermine Congress’ power to appropriate funds. Democrats and Republicans on the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations debated whether federal law allows banks to donate money to third-party charities to fulfill some of its settlement obligations. Ranking Minority member Al Green, D-TX, said...

Bank of America escaped having to pay $1.2 billion in penalties when a federal appeals court dismissed the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s allegations of fraud this week. The appeal stemmed from a 2013 verdict stating that Countrywide Home Loans, a subsidiary of BofA, was liable for damages caused by selling bad loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the financial crisis. Whether or not a breach of contract can also support a claim for fraud was the argument and primary factor in the judge’s decision. It seems that even if a loan seller is guilty of an intentional breach of contract, it’s not considered fraud.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General reported that the compensation resulting from six months of probes into criminal and civil investigations amounted to $3.6 billion. The bulk of the monetary damages awarded, more than $3 billion, was in civil settlements, while more than $480 million was from criminal fines, restitutions, forfeitures, and settlements. There were a total of 53 indictments, five trials, 73 convictions and 75 sentencings. Laura Wertheimer, inspector general at the FHFA, said when there’s not sufficient evident to refer a case for criminal charges, the FHFA will work to bring civil claims. One of those recent civil settlements was with Morgan Stanley, which agreed to pay a $2.7 billion penalty to resolve claims related to its mortgage-backed securities.

Guild Mortgage vowed to defend itself against government charges that it improperly originated and underwrote mortgages, which later caused millions of dollars in losses to the FHA and taxpayers. In a statement released after the Department of Justice filed its complaint in federal district court in Washington, DC, last week, Mary Ann McGarry, president and chief executive officer of Guild Mortgage, said the government’s action is unwarranted and meritless. “The implication that any default on an FHA loan by a borrower represents wrongdoing by the lender is not justified...

A ruling last week by the Supreme Court of the United States was viewed by the Mortgage Bankers Association as potentially making it harder for plaintiffs to win class-action certifications. Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins involves alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Thomas Robins filed a class-action lawsuit against Spokeo, alleging that his profile on the firm’s website contained inaccurate information. Spokeo is an online aggregator of individuals’ contact- and credit-information. The case was initially dismissed...