Mortgages

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As the financial services industry continues to monitor the proceedings in Community Financial Services Association of America v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an industry group composed of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) has filed a brief as amici curiae cautioning the Supreme Court against a ruling that could call into question all of the CFPB’s regulations.… Continue Reading

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently issued advisory guidance on the enforcement of time-barred mortgage loans.  A time-barred mortgage loan is one where the statute of limitations has expired.  The statute of limitations for mortgage loans are typically created by state law, and vary by jurisdiction.  In some cases, they create an affirmative defense for the consumer that prohibits a debt collector from suing to collect the debt. … Continue Reading

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (Act) directs the CFPB to prescribe Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ability-to-repay (ATR) rules for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing.  The CFPB recently issued a proposed rule that would require PACE creditors and PACE companies to consider a consumer’s ability to repay when issuing a new PACE loan, amend Regulation Z to address how it applies to PACE transactions, and adjust disclosure requirements to better fit PACE loans. … Continue Reading

On April 12, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed into law House Bill 1068, which creates a new statutory licensing scheme in North Dakota covering residential mortgage loan servicing activities.  This follows on the heels of the enactment last month of North Dakota Senate Bill 2090, which overhauled North Dakota’s licensing requirements related to residential mortgage lending. … Continue Reading

The CFPB recently announced that it is revising the methodology used to determine average prime offer rates (APORs).  The revised methodology is available on the website of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). Both the revised methodology and prior methodology are available on the FFIEC website.

The CFPB has used information from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS) on three products (30-year fixed-rate mortgages, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, and five-year variable-rate Mortgages), and pricing data from CFPB’s own internal survey on one-year variable-rate mortgages, to calculate APORs on a weekly basis for various loan products. … Continue Reading

On April 26, 2023, the CFPB will hold a field hearing in Brooklyn, New York on “zombie second mortgages.”  At the event, Director Chopra will host a discussion with local community organizations, advocates, leaders, and members of the public about such mortgages and debt collection issues.  The CFPB describes “zombie second mortgages” as “debts that consumers thought were satisfied long ago by loan modifications or bankruptcy proceedings or that were written off by lenders as uncollectable.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently announced the publication of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Modified Loan Application Data for 2022.  The data is available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) website. The CFPB advises that this year, in addition to institution-specific modified Loan Application Register (LAR) files, users can download one combined file that contains all institutions’ modified LAR data.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a final rule reinstating the 2013 version of its disparate impact rule under the Fair Housing Act (Act) to replace a version of the rule adopted by HUD during the Trump Administration in 2020 that never became effective.  The final rule is effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. … Continue Reading

On February 27, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) entered into a consent order against RMK Financial Corporation d/b/a Majestic Home Loan (RMK), a California-based mortgage lender, based on allegations that it falsely implied government endorsement of its home loans in its marketing. The consent order, which addressed numerous alleged statutory and regulatory violations and a failure to comply with an earlier consent order, prohibits RMK from engaging in any mortgage lending activities (or from receiving remuneration from mortgage lending) going forward, effectively shutting it down.… Continue Reading

The CFPB recently announced that it is conducting a review of the Regulation Z mortgage loan originator rules under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and is seeking comments on the economic impact of the rules on small entities.  The CFPB advises that “[t]hese comments may assist the Bureau in determining whether the Loan Originator Rules should be continued without change or amended or rescinded to minimize any significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small entities, consistent with the stated objectives of applicable Federal statutes.” … Continue Reading