A bill to provide a “Madden fix” and three other bills relevant to mortgage lenders were included among the more than 20 bills approved by the House Financial Services Committee on November 15, 2017.   With the exception of H.R. 3221, “Securing Access to Affordable Mortgages Act,” the bills received strong bipartisan support.… Continue Reading

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently entered into a consent order with Meridian Title Corporation (Meridian) under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

The CFPB found that Meridian is a title insurance agency that issues title insurance policies and provides loan settlement services in connection with residential mortgage transactions that are subject to RESPA.… Continue Reading

As we reported previously, on July 7, 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) posted on its website long awaited amendments to the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, and a proposal to address the so-called “black hole” issue (regarding limits on the ability of a credit to reset tolerances with a Closing Disclosure).… Continue Reading

A federal district court in Kentucky recently ruled against the CFPB in a long-standing case under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) involving a Louisville, Kentucky law firm Borders & Borders, PLC (Borders).  In the case, CFPB v. Borders & Borders, PLC, the court granted the summary judgment motion of Borders, finding that joint ventures related to Borders satisfied the statutory conditions of the RESPA section 8(c)(4) affiliated business arrangement exemption. … Continue Reading

The CFPB finalized the long-awaited initial round of amendments to the TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, also known as the Know Before Your Owe rule.  However, instead of addressing the so-called “black hole” issue, which refers to situations in which a lender may not be able to use a Closing Disclosure to reset fee tolerances, the CFPB punted by releasing a proposed rule on the issue.… Continue Reading

On June 7, the CFPB submitted a Rule 28(j) letter to the D.C. Circuit in the PHH case.  In the letter, the CFPB embraced the fact that the Supreme Court’s recent Kokesh v. SEC decision makes the five-year statute of limitations in 28 USC § 2462 applicable to disgorgement remedies in CFPB administrative proceedings. … Continue Reading

Several individuals and organizations filed amicus briefs in support of the CFPB in the en banc rehearing in the PHH case. Among the amici is a brief filed by current and former members of Congress, including Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, the principal architects and namesakes of the Dodd-Frank Act, which created the CFPB.… Continue Reading

On March 31, the CFPB and supporting amici submitted their briefs in the en banc rehearing of the PHH case. We have blogged extensively about the PHH case in which the D.C. Circuit is grappling with four critical issues: (i) whether the CFPB’s structure is constitutional (the CFPB says, yes), (ii) whether administrative actions brought by the CFPB are subject to a statute of limitations (the CFPB says, no), (iii) whether the CFPB’s interpretation of RESPA is correct (the CFPB says, yes), and (iv) whether the CFPB’s interpretation of RESPA, which differs from HUD’s historical interpretation, can be applied retroactively (the CFPB says, yes).… Continue Reading

The CFPB has posted on its TILA-RESPA implementation webpage updated versions of its Small Entity Compliance Guide and Guide to Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure Forms.  The updates focus on various guidance provided in recent TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule webinars provided by the Bureau.  We have previously addressed the content of the March 1, 2016 and April 12, 2016 webinars.… Continue Reading