Online self-service options can be scaled up more easily than traditional call centers, providing servicers with additional flexibility to handle spikes in homeowner requests, the bureau said.
Cowen analyst Jaret Seiberg warned the CFPB could be “setting the stage for an enforcement avalanche” against lenders that foreclose on troubled borrowers.
Among the changes: servicers no longer have to evaluate for every single anti-foreclosure option as long as the ones considered have certain consumer safeguards.
The bureau said it will “closely monitor how servicers engage with borrowers, respond to borrower requests, and process applications for loss mitigation.” If compliance issues arise, it will take into account a servicer’s overall effectiveness in helping consumers.
The number of complaints in the annual report submitted to Congress is substantially higher than figures reported on the bureau’s public-facing website...