In a surprising quick turn of events, on remand from SCOTUS, the 9th Circuit, on August 23, 2024, issued its unanimous unpublished panel opinion in Kivett v. Flagstar Bank, FSB (Kivett II) in which it essentially re-affirmed its earlier panel opinion holding that there is no preemption of a California state law which requires the payment of 2% interest on residential mortgage escrow accounts.… Continue Reading

On June 10, 2024, the Supreme Court granted the petition for a writ of certiorari and issued a summary disposition in Flagstar Bank, N.A. v. Kivett. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the Ninth Circuit for further consideration in light of the court’s recent decision in Cantero v.Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted certiorari to hear the Second Circuit case of Cantero et al. v. Bank of America, N.A., involving National Bank Act (NBA) preemption of New York’s law requiring that interest be paid to consumers on mortgage escrow account funds. The decision would address a split between the Second and Ninth Circuits on the topic of NBA preemption of state “interest-on-escrow” laws.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court has invited the Solicitor General to file briefs expressing the views of the United States in two cases involving the question whether state laws requiring the payment of interest on mortgage escrow accounts are preempted for national banks and federal savings associations.  The Supreme Court is considering whether to grant the petitions for certiorari filed in the two cases.… Continue Reading

In notices published in today’s Federal Register, the CFPB adjusted the thresholds of the asset-size exemptions for collecting HMDA data and establishing an escrow account for certain mortgage loans under TILA.

Pursuant to Regulation C, which implements HMDA, depository institutions with assets below an annually adjusted threshold are exempt from HMDA data collection requirements. … Continue Reading

The CFPB recently released a revised version of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule Small Entity Compliance Guide.

The revised version incorporates the recent amendments to the rule that became effective on October 10, 2017.  Compliance with the amendments will be required for applications received on or after October 1, 2018.

The amendments also clarified that the separate escrow cancellation notice and partial payment disclosure requirements under Regulation Z will apply to all covered loans on October 1, 2018, regardless of when the application is received.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has announced annual adjustments to two asset-size exemption thresholds.  First, the CFPB is making no change to the asset-size exemption threshold under HMDA/Regulation C which is currently set at $44 million.  Banks, savings associations, and credit unions with assets at or below $44 million as of December 31, 2015 will continue to be exempt from collecting HMDA data in 2016.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has posted on its website a list of rural and underserved counties for calendar year 2011.  The CFPB had already posted lists of such counties for calendar years 2012 and 2013. 

As initially adopted, the CFPB’s final rule requiring creditors to establish escrow accounts for certain first-lien higher-priced mortgage loans contained an exemption for certain small creditors that operated predominantly in “rural” or “underserved” counties in the preceding calendar year.… Continue Reading

In notices published in yesterday’s Federal Register, the CFPB adjusted the thresholds of the asset-size exemptions for collecting HMDA data and establishing an escrow account for certain mortgage loans under TILA.

Pursuant to Regulation C, which implements HMDA, depository institutions with assets below an annually adjusted threshold are exempt from HMDA data collection requirements.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued final “clarifying and technical” amendments to its final mortgage escrow account rule dealing with the establishment of mandatory escrow accounts on higher-priced mortgage loans (HPML).  

The final escrow rule contains exemptions for certain creditors operating primarily in “rural” or “underserved” areas. Such creditors are also the subject of (1) a provision allowing balloon payment mortgages in the final ability-to-repay rule, (2) an exemption from the balloon payment prohibition on high-cost mortgages in the 2013 final HOEPA rule, and (3) an exemption from a requirement to obtain a second appraisal for certain HPMLs in the 2013 interagency final appraisals rule. … Continue Reading