State regulators are enhancing their scrutiny of financial firms, particularly with regard to debt collection and fair lending, given the perceived pullback from the CFPB, state officials and experts said while speaking at a conference hosted by the Consumer Bankers Association last week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, the Maryland Bankers Association and the Maryland Mortgage Bankers & Brokers Association are opposing proposed legislation in Maryland that would require a trust to be licensed as a debt collection agency to foreclose on a loan.

The CFPB and Florida regulators last week asked a federal court to merge their lawsuits against mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. in order to avoid the risk of future jury inconsistency and to reduce their respective burden.

State authorities will focus their enforcement actions this year on tackling redlining and unfair, deceptive and abusive acts or practices in order to fill the enforcement gap created at the federal level, industry attorneys predicted.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich recently announced two new participants in the state’s regulatory sandbox for fintech companies. On the federal level, the CFPB expects to do more to encourage financial innovation.

Democrats captured a majority of state attorney general seats in elections earlier this month, which will likely increase state-level litigation and multistate enforcement activity, said attorneys.

S&P Global Ratings last week urged mortgage servicers to continue to follow the best practices established after the financial crisis, even as some federal regulators are adopting less assertive regulatory approaches. “While we believe the regulatory landscape has changed and that these actions offer some promising developments for servicers, this overture could still prelude some hurdles,” an S&P report said. “Since servicers have invested considerable capital ...

An Illinois-based mortgage company will pay $1.2 million in restitution to consumers after a state investigation found a company’s branch manager defrauded consumers. Diamond Residential Mortgage Corp., Lake Forest, IL, recently settled with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, resolving a mortgage fraud allegation. Diamond’s Springfield branch manager, Chris Schaller ...

A top CFPB official last week touted the agency’s strategy on fintech and innovation in financial services as a perfect fit with its emphasis on cooperating with state regulators. Paul Watkins, director of the CFPB’s Office of Innovation, said the bureau is taking unique steps to coordinate with state regulators in creating regulatory sandboxes for financial technology companies. He joined other government officials in making remarks at the Bank Policy Institute’s ...

The CFPB has abandoned a controversial proposal to expand its disclosure of confidential information through Freedom of Information Act requests. Notably, a new final rule omits the whole part of a previous proposal that would have allowed the CFPB to share confidential information collected in supervisory events with any government agency it deems “relevant to the exercise of the agency’s statutory or regulatory authority.” Such agencies would ...