Finance & Banking › Residential Real Estate › Consumer Protection

The Federal Reserve's Minimum Standards for Prioritization and Handling Borrower Files with Imminent Foreclosure Sale

The Federal Reserve's Minimum Standards for Prioritization and Handling Borrower Files with Imminent Foreclosure Sale. The Federal Reserves guidance is significant because it applies to all regulated bank servicing, rather...more

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Minimum Standards for Prioritization and Handling Borrower Files Subject to Imminent...

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Minimum Standards for Prioritization and Handling Borrower Files Subject to Imminent Foreclosure Sale for all OCC Regulated Banks. The OCC guidance is significant because it...more

FinCEN: Accountant and Elder Abuse

We have been keeping track of FinCEN's SAR Activity Review – Trends, Tips & Issues virtually from its inception. In its just issued May 2013 report, FinCEN provides new information regarding two areas of importance: 1)...more

CFPB Releases Plain Language Video Guides for New Mortgage Rules

In January 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a series of new rules affecting the mortgage industry. These rules touch upon a wide variety of areas, including originations, appraisals, and servicing....more

Federal Housing Finance Agency Proposes New Rules on Lender-Placed Insurance

On March 29, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposed consideration of new regulation on lender-placed insurance. The FHFA specifically requested public input concerning sales commissions and reinsurance activities,...more

Senator Elizabeth Warren's May 14, 2013 letter to Ben Bernanke, Eric Holder, & Mary Jo White

Senator Elizabeth Warren's May 14, 2013 letter to The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, U.S. Department of Justice...

Senator Elizabeth Warren Pushes Feds For Answer On Big Bank Enforcement WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised the stakes of her quest to find out why a single Wall Street bank has not been prosecuted in the...more

CFPB Proposes To Delay Part Of Mortgage Loan Originator Rule

On May 7, the CFPB proposed to temporarily delay the effective date of one aspect of its loan originator compensation rule....more

Notes from CFPB Education Conference for State Attorneys General

The George Mason University School of Law, Law & Economics Center recently hosted a conference titled “Understanding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,” through GMU’s Attorneys General Education Program. Founded in...more

CFPB Publishes Additional Mortgage Rule Compliance Guides

On May 2, the CFPB published three additional guides to assist companies seeking to comply with its HOEPA rule, ECOA valuations rule, and TILA high-priced mortgage appraisal rule....more

CFPB proposes delay in effective date of Reg Z prohibition on financing credit insurance premiums

The CFPB has issued a proposal to temporarily delay the June 1, 2013 effective date of the Regulation Z prohibition on financing credit insurance premiums (Section 1026.36(i)). The proposal responds to concerns raised by...more

The CFPB Loan Originator Compensation Rule

Andrew Campbell of Ober|Kaler's Financial Institutions Group presented "The CFPB Loan Originator Compensation Rule," on the webinar entitled: MLO Compensation Rules: New Standards Change the Way You Do Business. The program...more

Second Circuit ILSA decision follows CFPB position

The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Berlin v. Renaissance Rental Partners, LLC issued on May 6 represents a win for the CFPB’s amicus program. At the court’s invitation, the CFPB filed a letter...more

Oklahoma Adds a Mortgage Lender License

Oklahoma recently amended its Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act to add a Mortgage Lender License. A mortgage lender is defined as any entity that takes an application for a residential mortgage loan,...more

CFPB issues more small entity compliance guides for mortgage-related rules

The CFPB has issued several more Small Entity Compliance Guides on its mortgage-related rules. In addition to its guide on the ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage rule, the CFPB has now issued Small Entity Compliance...more

GSEs: Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgages

Yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it is directing Fannie Mae ("Fannie") and Freddie Mac ("Freddie") to limit their future mortgage acquisitions to loans that meet the requirements for a...more

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman To Sue Wells Fargo & Bank Of America For Violating National Mortgage Settlement

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman To Sue Wells Fargo & Bank Of America For Violating National Mortgage Settlement...more

CFPB Proposes Changes To Qualified Mortgage And Mortgage Servicing Rules

On April 19, the CFPB proposed a rule to amend and clarify certain provisions of its final qualified mortgage rule and final mortgage servicing rule....more

ROBO-LITIGATION Re: Attorney Misconduct at Foreclosure Mills

ROBO-LITIGATION Re: Attorney Misconduct at Foreclosure Mills The scale of attorney malfeasance in connection with the foreclosure crisis is enormous. Whether attorneys knowingly filed false documents or simply failed to...more

CFPB issues report on servicemember complaints

The CFPB’s Office of Servicemember Affairs has issued a report on complaints submitted by servicemembers, veterans or their spouses and dependents (“servicemember complaints”) over the period from January 1, 2012 through...more

Mortgage Banking Update: 10th Circuit: Law Firm Not Required To Flag Erroneous Credit Reports in Foreclosure Proceeding

A law firm hired to foreclose on a property was not required under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to inform a credit reporting agency of erroneously negative credit reports on the borrower, even if the firm...more

CSBS Seeks Comment On NMLS Licensing Forms, Mortgage Call Report

Earlier this month, the CSBS sought comment on potential revisions to (i) the uniform NMLS company, branch, and individual licensing forms and (ii) the quarterly NMLS Mortgage Call Report. The forms create a national standard...more

KEVIN SINGH v BANK OF AMERICA

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER GRANTING Plaintiff’s Application for a Preliminary Injunction under California's Homeowners Bill of Rights...

California Homeowner Bill of Rights (HBOR) Blocks Bank of America's Foreclosure A California man successfully halted a foreclosure sale on his property using the newly minted California Homeowner Bill of Rights to obtain a...more

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (CBO) RE Options for Principal Forgiveness

Modifying Mortgages Involving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Options for Principal Forgiveness

The Congressional Budget Office is accepted as a non-partisan agency which has torpedoed both Democratic and Republican proposals on the economy. Upon request from Congress, the CBO studied the mortgage and foreclosure market...more

CFPB Proposed Clarifications on Qualified Mortgage Rules

On April 19, the CFPB released proposed rule amendments to the ability to repay/qualified mortgage (QM) rules. The proposals address...more

CFPB Proposes Escrow Rule Amendments, Publishes Escrow Rule Compliance Guide

On April 12, the CFPB proposed a rule to amend aspects of its January 10, 2013 final rule on escrow account requirements for first-lien higher-priced mortgage loans (HPMLs). That rule expands existing escrow requirements for...more