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Inside the CFPB

July 7, 2014

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Financial Services Providers See Broad Improvement in Complaints

Consumer complaints to the CFPB continued their quarter-by-quarter rise and fall, but one strong message from second quarter data is that financial services providers of all types saw a big improvement in the sheer volume of gripes, a new analysis by Inside the CFPB found. Overall, criticisms fell by 14.8 percent in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. Of the eight categories of consumer criticisms we track, seven saw double-digit improvements in 2Q14, ranging from an 11.3 percent drop related to bank accounts, to an 18.5 percent fall having to do with home mortgages. The sole category that saw an increase in the period ended June 30, 2014, was money transfers, which saw a rise of a scant [with 3 charts] ... Read More

Why is OFHEO’s Old Stomping Grounds So Pricey for the CFPB?

The CFPB got a public relations black eye last week when its Inspector General issued a report finding that renovation costs for the bureau’s headquarters in Washington, DC, now stand at a projected $215.8 million – $160.8 million more than the original estimate. “These estimated all-in costs include the $145.1 million obligated for construction, construction management, and General Services Administration fees, as well as $70.7 million for other items including A/E [architectural/engineering] services, rent for swing space, costs associated with moving, and additional renovation-related expenses,” the IG noted. According to the IG, the CFPB has formalized policies for budgeting and funding, as well as for approving major investments prior to obligating funds. “However, we noted that the approval of funding for ... Read More

Mortgage Brokers Trying to Persuade Bureau to Revise Cap

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers is doing another survey of its membership to determine the amount of closing cost credits given back to consumers at closing during 2013 – part of a broader effort on the part of the trade group to persuade the CFPB to loosen aspects of its ability-to-repay rule. Last year, NAMB submitted a letter to the CFPB to detail the mandatory credits a broker is required to provide consumers when rate sheet pricing exceeds the broker’s contractually obligated Lender Paid Compensation agreement. NAMB contends that the mortgage broker community provides mortgage credits back to the consumer that range in the billions annually, thus stimulating the nation’s economy. In order to demonstrate this, NAMB polled a number ... Read More

Cordray’s Recess Appointment Likely Invalid, Issue Now Moot

President Barack Obama’s original recess appointment of Richard Cordray as director of the CFPB was likely unconstitutional, according to the rationale the U.S. Supreme Court used late last month to unanimously declare the president’s nominees to the National Labor Relations Board out of bounds. Late last month, in NLRB v. Noel Canning, the SCOTUS ruled that the president’s Jan. 4, 2012, recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were invalid. Alan Kaplinsky, a practice leader with the Ballard Spahr law firm, explained the legal question in dispute this way: “The NLRB recess appointments were made on January 4, the day after a new session of Congress had begun with a pro forma January 3 session and two days before ... Read More

CSBS Worried Lenders Could Exploit Proposed ‘Right to Cure’

The Conference of State Bank Supervisors told the CFPB it is concerned that certain bad actors within the mortgage lending industry could take advantage of the bureau’s proposed “right to cure” an otherwise qualified mortgage loan that inadvertently falls outside the ability-to-repay rule’s 3 percent cap on points and fees. The CSBS concern revolves largely around bona fide discount points. “State banking regulators support measures that would increase access to credit for consumers who are at the margins of the points-and-fees limits,” the CSBS said in public comment letter to the bureau. “However, there is concern that the proposed ‘cure’ mechanism for inadvertent points and fee miscalculations could disguise or promote the misuse of discount points by unscrupulous lenders seeking ... Read More

Mortgage Lenders Generally Support a DTI ‘Right to Cure’

A diverse group of mortgage lending industry representatives including Realtors, credit unions and behemoth Bank of America is more or less supportive of a possible “right to cure” a qualified mortgage loan that would inadvertently slip beyond the QM 43 percent debt-to-income ratio threshold. “We support a DTI cure that would allow creditors to take corrective action where there is an inadvertent error in calculating a consumer’s debt or income or where a creditor has stopped documenting income in the mistaken belief that sufficient validated documentation supporting the 43 percent test has been obtained,” BofA said in a public comment letter to the CFPB. According to the lender, both of these instances could easily be fixed, either by correcting a ... Read More

Credit Unions Support Broader Exemptions from CFPB Rules

Credit union industry representatives want the CFPB to expand some exemptions in some of its recent rulemakings so their CU members could reach larger portions of their targeted markets. One of the recent amendments the bureau proposed to its mortgage rules issued in 2013 would provide an alternative definition of “small provider” applicable to Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities that service loans for a fee and on behalf of other nonprofit entities within the same overall organization.This is the so-called “small servicer exemption.” Also for 501(c)(3) nonprofit entities, the proposed rule would exempt certain interest-free, contingent subordinate liens from the credit extension limit under the ability-to-repay rule. This is what’s known as the “small creditor exemption.” As ... Read More

Compliance Management Systems Prime Focus of CFPB Supervision

Compliance management systems are a “fundamental focus of supervision” for the CFPB, regardless of whether a given entity is a bank or nonbank, a top official told members of the industry recently. During a recent webinar sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance, an affiliated newsletter, Ann Thompson, a senior analyst in the CFPB’s Office of Supervision Policy, discussed the critical relevance of a sound and solid CMS. “We think that a fully developed compliance management system is important because it should lessen risks to consumer and reduce the potential for violations of federal consumer financial laws,” Thompson said. “Even though the CFPB does not require a particular CMS structure, our supervisory experience has found that an effective CMS commonly has four ... Read More

Industry Groups Urge OMB to Shut Down CFPB Telephone Survey

The American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association and the Financial Services Roundtable urged the Office of Management and Budget to put the kibosh on the CFPB’s proposal to conduct a national telephone survey of 1,000 credit card holders. The proposal is part of the CFPB’s study of the use of mandatory arbitration agreements in connection with the offering of consumer financial products and services. “The associations strongly recommend that OMB not approve the proposal because it will not produce information of practical utility, remains materially flawed and is inconsistent with the statutory mandate,” the groups said in a joint letter. Instead, the groups recommended that the bureau focus on obtaining important consumer information related to arbitration, including information with ... Read More

GAO Report Suggests CFPB Get Involved in Virtual Currencies

Late last month, the Government Accountability Office released a report on virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, including a recommendation that the CFPB identify and join existing interagency working groups to ensure that consumer protection issues are taken into consideration. “CFPB might be a relevant participant in a broader set of collaborative efforts on virtual currencies because virtual currency systems provide a new way of making financial transactions, and CFPB’s responsibilities include ensuring that consumers have timely and understandable information to make responsible decisions about financial transactions,” the GAO said. According to the report, CFPB officials said they are reviewing how the bureau’s consumer protection responsibilities are implicated by consumer use (or potential use) of virtual currencies. “CFPB officials said they ... Read More

Worth Noting

Bankers Keep up the Push for CFPB-Related Legislation. The American Bankers Association is making a member push to drum up on Capitol Hill for three pieces of legislation designed to ease the regulatory burden for bankers, H.R. 2673, H.R. 4521 and H.R. 4466. H.R. 2673, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, would treat as a qualified mortgage any residential mortgage loan made by a creditor so long as it is held in portfolio. H.R. 4521, the Community Institution Mortgage Relief Act of 2014, would expand the CFPB’s small servicers exception to include servicers of 20,000 mortgage loans or less, and would revise the small creditor exemption to include loans that are held by creditors with assets of $10 billion ... Read More

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