CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The National Flood Insurance Program’s authorization to issue new flood insurance contracts will expire on Sept. 30 unless Congress votes to extend it.
Congress has been unable to enact a long-term extension of parts of the program. Traditionally an extension of the authorization to write new insurance contracts has been included in short-term and end-of-year appropriations measures.… Continue Reading
As previously reported, in connection with its guaranteed home loan program, in June 2024 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopted a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate broker or agent assisting them (a “buyer-broker”) in the purchase of a home. In Circular 26-24-15, the VA announced an enhancement made to the Issue Guaranty screen in VA’s WebLGY system related to veteran-paid buyer-broker charges.… Continue Reading
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) will release the first phase of major enhancements to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System & Registry (NMLS) on July 20.
The updates are intended to address certain issues industry users have raised, including allowing users to create a username and password without having to contact the NMLS Call Center, and allowing users who have multiple NMLS accounts to access their accounts using one username and password.… Continue Reading
The complexity of loss mitigation programs designed to assist distressed mortgage borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been too daunting for many borrowers to seek help, the CFPB said, in a report released last week.
“Many respondents faced challenges accessing these programs even among those who reported communicating with their servicer,” the CFPB said.… Continue Reading
We discuss various issues faced by lenders and servicers when attempting to foreclose on “zombie” mortgages, meaning second mortgages on which the borrower has not made a payment for a considerable period of time and the lender or servicer has not previously taken action to foreclose. First, we look at the CFPB’s May 2023 advisory guidance on the enforcement of time-barred mortgage loans. … 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
Ginnie Mae advises in the report that in early 2016 it and investors in Ginnie Mae guaranteed MBS “first began to identify a wave of early loan repayments and serial refinancing as a problem with much greater incidence in VA mortgages in Ginnie Mae securities than loans insured by other agencies.” … Continue Reading
Last week, the CFPB published a blog post, stating that it “strongly encourages” mortgage servicers to participate in Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) programs. The Bureau asserts that it “remains focused on preventing avoidable foreclosures to the maximum extent possible and expects mortgage servicers to do the same.”
By way of background, HAF is a federal program that provides money to states, tribes, and territories to assist homeowners with housing costs. … Continue Reading
We look at the practices found to be unlawful by CFPB examiners in these markets, discuss what the findings signal for future scrutiny of these markets by the “new CFPB”, and share practical takeaways for companies operating in these markets. Issues highlighted in our conversation include the CFPB’s findings regarding “unreliable furnishers,” furnisher handling of “frivolous or irrelevant” disputes, interest accrual on debts in collection, and mortgage servicer consideration of private mortgage insurance termination dates when estimating disbursements in an annual escrow analysis.… Continue Reading
In its February 2021 Bulletin, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) reminds licensed mortgage loan servicers that DFPI examinations will include processes to determine compliance with state and federal laws providing consumer protections with regard to COVID-19-related foreclosures. The DFPI notes that these laws “include provisions allowing for forbearance of mortgage payments, post-forbearance options forbidding the requirement of lump sum payments, and the extension of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights to tenant occupied principal residences.” … Continue Reading
