Cart

Inside the CFPB

February 6, 2012

View Archived Issues

Uncertainty Remains for QM Legal Protection

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray gave no indication which way his agency may be leaning in terms of the kind of legal protection the CFPB may provide related to “qualified mortgages” and lender liability when the agency releases its ability-to-repay final rule under the Truth in Lending Act later this year. Appearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee last week, Cordray said, “One of the things we’ve heard most about from institutions is they would like to see this rule – whatever the criteria are – that there be some sort of safe ... Read More

NY AG Sues Lenders Over Use of MERS

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit late last week against Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, claiming that their use of MERSCorp’s Mortgage Electronic Registry System resulted in a wide range of deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure filings in New York state and federal courts, harming homeowners and undermining the integrity of the judicial foreclosure process. Among its specific accusations, the NY AG’s office says that, out of the 13,000-plus foreclosure actions against New York homeowners in which MERS listed itself as the plaintiff, “in many ... Read More

CFPB Issues Incomplete Agenda That Excludes Expanded Powers

Days after Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray appeared reluctant to commit to publishing a formal regulatory agenda before a key House committee, the bureau turned around last week and quietly issued just such a document, albeit an iteration that did not list key projects under the CFPB’s newly expanded powers it acquired with an appointed director. That suggests the agenda was put together prior to Cordray’s recess appointment and perhaps without his awareness, some observers suggest; otherwise, surely he would have mentioned it when he was ... Read More

CFPB Launches 8th Round of RESPA/TILA Disclosure Prototypes

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released for public comment the eighth iteration of its consumer mortgage disclosure prototype forms, dubbed “hemlock” and “butternut,” specifically asking for input as to how the prototypes work with the CFPB’s current application disclosure prototype. “These prototypes use a format for closing costs that’s similar to the format on the initial disclosure to enable the two forms to work well together,” the CFPB said. “Consumers should be able to see if their final loan terms and costs are different from the numbers they were originally offered ... Read More

State AGs Face Deadline Today in Foreclosure Settlement Talks

State attorneys general reportedly have until today to agree to a potential $25 billion settlement with big mortgage lender/servicers – namely Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Under the latest iteration being voted on, about $17 billion of that amount would consist of penalties paid by the banks, which would be used for principal reductions. Another $5 billion would go toward a reserve account that would be used to pay $1,800 checks to homeowners affected by deceptive foreclosure practices, with $2 billion to $3 billion to go toward helping ... Read More

State of the Union Features Gov Probe of Lending Practices

President Barack Obama last week launched the creation of a new Residential Mortgage Backed Securities Working Group to further investigate mortgage origination and servicing abuses. “Tonight, I’m asking my attorney general to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis,” the president said during his recent State of the Union address ... Read More

Industry Comments on HUD’s Disparate-Impact Proposed Rule

Six financial services trade associations presented the mortgage lending industry’s views to the Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the agency’s proposed rule to implement a disparate-impact legal standard under the Fair Housing Act. One of their arguments was that HUD should postpone its rulemaking pending the United States Supreme Court’s disposition of Magner v. Gallagher (No. 10-1032). The primary issue in the case is whether the disparate-impact theory of discrimination applies under the Fair Housing Act or whether plaintiffs have to prove intentional ... Read More

FHFA Retreating From Dramatic Mortgage Servicing Fee Changes

The Federal Housing Finance Agency might be backing away from its controversial suggestion to change mortgage servicer compensation from the current 25 basis points of outstanding principal balance to a flat fee of $10 per mortgage, per month for current loans, with no incremental fees other than existing incentive compensation for the servicing of non-performing mortgages. “Considering changes to the structure of mortgage servicing compensation is an important component of improving the operations of the future mortgage market,” an FHFA spokeswoman said. “We received useful input on ... Read More

State Roundup

Illinois. State Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that Nationwide Title Clearing, a Florida-based company that prepares documents for use in default servicing and foreclosure actions, filed faulty documents with Illinois county recorders. The lawsuit alleges a number of violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Madigan is asking the court to “require NTC to review and correct all documents it unlawfully created and recorded in Illinois, and pay back all ... Read More

Federal Roundup

Federal Reserve.Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.National Credit Union Administration. Guidance on Junior Liens Reissued. Federally regulated financial institutions have to monitor all credit quality indicators relevant for home loan borrowers, under guidance that was reissued by the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the National Credit Union ... Read More

Worth Noting

CitiMortgage is bailing out of its broker channel business. “After careful consideration, CitiMortgage has decided to transition away from our mortgage broker business and sharpen our focus on a customer-centric channel strategy,” Citi Public Affairs Director Mark Rodgers said in an email to the press last week. The move allows the company to focus its attention and efforts on its retail and correspondent channels, which have “the highest opportunity of increasing long-term engagement with our clients,” he said.Further, it allows CitiMortgage to invest its resources in ... Read More

Latest Imf News

More Imf News

Featured Data

More Featured Data

Featured Reports

More Latest Reports

Featured Poll

As homeowner equity continues to build, more and more lenders are launching home equity lending products. Are you thinking of joining this market?

View Results