Legislation

Browse articles from all of our Newsletters related to Legislation.

August 10, 2018 - Inside FHA/VA Lending

MBA Urges Congress to Fix Problem of ‘Orphaned’ VA Mortgage Loans

The Mortgage Bankers Association called upon Congress to pass legislation to restore Ginnie Mae eligibility for so-called orphaned VA loans, which have caused a temporary disruption in the government-backed secondary market. In written testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs last week, the MBA urged lawmakers to make technical corrections to restore the eligibility of certain Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans for pooling. The MBA estimated the VA orphan loan mess at roughly $500 million. Due to new loan seasoning requirements in the recently enacted Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, sime IRRRLs were rendered ineligible for Ginnie MBS pools. The loans were in transit when legislation addressing the problem of VA loan churning and serial refinancing became law in May. The new law’s seasoning provisions turned out to be ...


August 6, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Bankers Ask For TRID Exemption of Single-Family Construction Loans

Mortgage lenders want the CFPB to exempt single-family residential construction loans from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act / Truth in Lending Act Integrated Disclosure Rule. The TRID rule implemented by former Director Richard Cordray expressly applies to most construction loans that are secured, closed-end consumer credit transactions. Such loans are subject to the same extensive cost and term TRID disclosures as permanent purchase ...


August 6, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

A New Strike: CFPB Loses Lawsuit Against Debt Collection Law Firm

A federal judge in Ohio recently sided with a law firm in a debt collection enforcement action taken by the CFPB. Industry attorneys said the ruling calls into question whether the bureau should bring future actions against such firms. The CFPB filed a lawsuit in April 2017 against the debt collection law firm Weltman, Weinberg & Reis for falsely representing in collection letters sent to consumers that attorneys were involved in collecting the debt. In most cases ...


August 6, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

CFPB Active Again in Enforcement Actions, But With New Tactics

The CFPB has been accelerating its enforcement actions in the past two months, and attorneys said Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney is now defending the bureau’s enforcement power, with a new strategy and focus. “The enforcement actions are being announced more frequently now,” said Allen Denson, partner at Hudson Cook. “I expect the steady clip of settlements we’ve seen over the last two months to continue.” After Mulvaney took the reins at the ...


August 2, 2018 - Inside Mortgage Finance

Traditional Calculation of Mortgage Denial Rate Skewed by Share of Low-Credit Applicants

The denial rate on mortgage applications calculated solely from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data provides a misleading measure of credit availability, according to industry analysts. Analysts from the Urban Institute and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. authored a paper suggesting that the attributes of loan applicants should be taken into consideration when determining denial rates. “Higher denial rates can be the result of either a tighter credit environment or an increase in ...


July 23, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Other News in Brief: Settlements With Payday Lenders; Task Force; New Deputy Director

CFPB Joins Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. The CFPB recently joined a new Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud, created by President Trump pursuant to an executive order. The task force is led by the Department of Justice, with the participation of the CFPB, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. The task force will provide guidance for the investigation and prosecution of cases [Includes four briefs] ...


July 23, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

MBA Calls for HMDA Exemption of Business Multifamily Loans

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently asked the CFPB to exempt business-to-business loans secured by multifamily properties from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting. The MBA met with the CFPB leadership recently to discuss the HMDA requirement. “The bureau appeared receptive to our concerns,” said trade group officials. Among a number of suggestions, the MBA said HMDA reporting on business-to-business loans secured by multifamily ...


July 23, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

CFPB Likely to Come Under Fire With Trump’s Supreme Court Pick

The controversial structure of the CFPB and its enforcement tactics will likely draw skeptical attention from the U.S. Supreme Court if President Trump’s pick, Brett Kavanaugh, is confirmed by the Senate, industry attorneys said. President Trump recently nominated Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, a moderate justice who has announced his retirement. Kavanaugh is a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit with a pro-business ...


July 23, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Kathy Kraninger Grilled by Democrats on Multiple Issues

Kathy Kraninger, President Trump’s pick to run the CFPB, faced tough questioning from Democrats in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs during a confirmation hearing last week. Democrats said Kraninger is not qualified for the top position in the powerful consumer agency. They hammered on her involvement with the Trump administration’s immigration policy that separates children from their parents and the response to ...


July 23, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Takeaways: Kraninger’s List of Do’s and Don’ts for CFPB

During a heated hearing last week on Capitol Hill, the nominee to become the next CFPB director, Kathy Kraninger, identified some of her broad priorities for the consumer agency if she gets the job. Kraninger appeared to embrace the industry-friendly approach for the bureau that has been set by her boss at the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, who is also the acting director at the CFPB. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, said Kraninger showed a philosophy ...


July 13, 2018 - Inside FHA/VA Lending

HUD Issues Interpretive Rule to Fix Ginnie Mae’s VA IRRRL Snafu

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued an interpretive rule to clear up some of the confusion created by the recently approved Dodd-Frank reform act regarding the eligibility of certain VA refinance loans to serve as Ginnie Mae collateral. Although interpretive rules are exempted from public comment under the Administrative Procedures Act, HUD is seeking public input on its interpretation of the loan-seasoning provision of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which President Trump signed into law on May 24, 2018. Among other things, the statute prohibits Ginnie from guaranteeing payment on a security backed by a mortgage that does not meet its seasoning requirements. The protective measure was designed to deter lenders from encouraging veterans to refinance their loans often and repeatedly. Loan churning led to faster prepayment speeds on the ...


July 13, 2018 - Inside Nonconforming Markets

Higher-Priced Lending Up by 20.1 Percent in 2017

Originations of higher-priced conventional mortgages increased by 20.1 percent on an annual basis to $36.01 billion in 2017, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Nonconforming Markets of data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Higher-priced mortgages are loans that have an annual percentage rate higher than a threshold for the “average prime offer rate” on a comparable mortgage. First-lien mortgages with an APR ... [Includes two data charts]


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Lenders Call for Clarification of Fair Lending Standards

Industry groups are calling on the CFPB to provide clarification of fair lending standards under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act as it applies to disparate impact, according to recently filed comment letters on inherited regulations. Among other things, lenders are asking the CFPB to review its use of disparate impact based on a Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Inclusive Communities. The case established a framework for the application of disparate impact ...


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

CFPB Set to Implement HMDA Relief Later This Summer

The CFPB announced it will release guidance later this summer to provide exemptions to smaller financial institutions under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The regulatory relief comes from the Dodd-Frank reform act – the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act – signed into law in May. The new law exempts depository institutions and credit unions that originated fewer than 500 closed-end mortgage loans or 500 open-end lines of ...


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Nader Doesn’t Mince Words, Calls Mulvaney a ‘Vicious’ Henchman

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, a one-time presidential candidate, recently blasted Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney, calling him “Trump’s chief hatchet man extraordinaire.” Nader referred to Trump’s top aide as “easily one of the cruelest, most vicious presidential henchman in modern American history,” saying nowhere has Mulvaney “been more blatant about his ugly mission than in his efforts to freeze and dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection ...


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

More Clarity Needed in TRID 2.0, Compliance Experts Say

The preamble of the integrated mortgage disclosure rule creates confusion about whether certain charges qualify for a 10 percent tolerance, and compliance experts suggest that lenders wait to see if there’s further guidance from the CFPB. The CFPB released a rule a year ago finalizing amendments to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act Integrated Disclosure Rule. The amended TRID rule took effect in October 2017, but the mandatory compliance date…


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

The War is Over: CFPB Deputy Director English to Resign

Leandra English, deputy director of the CFPB, announced late last week she will resign from the agency early this week, ending her legal fight to become the bureau’s acting chief. English said she made the decision “in light of the recent nomination of a new director,” according to a statement posted on the Twitter account of English’s attorney, Deepak Gupta. Gupta also posted a statement saying he and English will bring to an end a pending case that ...


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

Mulvaney Up for Key White House Post. But Will He Get It?

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney has emerged as a leading candidate to become President Trump’s next chief of staff. Now, the big question: Will it actually happen? The speculation regarding Mulvaney and the White House chief of staff job, however, is not new. In February of this year, Mulvaney was said to be Trump’s top pick for the position, but nothing happened. “I remember he was rumored to be a candidate last time [John] Kelly was in trouble,” said one former ...


July 9, 2018 - Inside the CFPB

CFPB Closes Investigation of Zillow: Another Industry Win on RESPA?

The CFPB recently dropped its RESPA-related investigation of Zillow, deciding not to bring enforcement charges against the online real estate database firm, according to a new public filing. At issue was Zillow’s co-marketing program, which allows real estate agents and lenders to advertise together on the firm’s website. As part of the launch, Zillow had boasted that its “premier agents” can invite lenders to share marketing costs. “Lenders get featured next to the agents on Zillow ...


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Industry Reports

Data Reports:

Research Reports:

Poll

With mortgage production down noticeably this year from 2017, how many lenders might disappear via M&A or failure during the next 12 months?

10% or less. It’s not that bad out there.

17%

11% to 25%. It’s a challenging market.

48%

25% to 40%. It’s going to be very ugly.

24%

No opinion.

11%

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