The CFPB and Justice Department filed a joint complaint last week in a Texas federal district court against Colony Ridge Development, LLC and three related entities (collectively, “Colony Ridge”) in which the agencies allege...more
12/28/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
ILSA ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Predatory Lending ,
Statutory Violations
As previously reported, the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 221-202, voted under the Congressional Review Act to override the CFPB’s final Section 1071 small business lending rule (1071 Rule), and the U.S. Senate,...more
12/27/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Presidential Veto ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
The CFPB recently released results of a study of residential mortgage refinance loans from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2023, focusing on differences between cash-out and non-cash-out (or rate and term)...more
The CFPB recently issued a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and a final rule increasing the asset exemption threshold for the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)...more
Bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 4198) and the U.S. Senate (S. 3502) to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to curtail the practice of trigger leads with mortgage loans....more
12/20/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Credit Unions ,
Depository Institutions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Regulatory Agenda
On December 8, 2023, oral arguments were held before a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in the CFPB v. Townstone Financial case, in which the CFPB alleges that Townstone Financial, a...more
12/14/2023
/ Chevron Deference ,
Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Oral Argument ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
SCOTUS
The CFPB has released its Fall 2023 rulemaking agenda as part of the Fall 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The agenda’s preamble indicates that “[t]he Bureau reasonably anticipates having...more
12/8/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Committee ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Late Fees ,
Mortgage Servicing Rules ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Popular ,
Regulation DD ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Last week, by a vote of 221-202, the House of Representatives voted to approve S.J. 32, the resolution introduced under the Congressional Review Act to override the CFPB’s final Section 1071 small business lending rule (1071...more
12/6/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Presidential Veto ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently issued Circular 26-23-25 in which VA “is strongly encouraging a foreclosure moratorium on all VA-guaranteed loans through May 31, 2024.” Additionally, VA “urges servicers...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently proposed enhancements to its 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage loan program. The proposed enhancements are set forth in a draft Mortgagee Letter. FHA will accept feedback on the...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the 2024 loan limits for FHA insured forward mortgage loans and FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The announcements were made...more
11/30/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
HECM ,
HUD ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgagee Letters ,
Mortgages
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the conforming loan limits for residential mortgage loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2024. Fannie Mae addresses the limits in Lender Letter 2023-09....more
The CFPB recently approved an application (Application) from the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) for alternative disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)...more
11/29/2023
/ Construction Industry ,
Construction Loans ,
Construction Project ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) ,
Mortgages ,
Real Estate Development ,
RESPA ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Earlier this month, the CFPB filed a notice with the Texas federal district court that it is appealing to the Fifth Circuit the district court’s order granting summary judgment to a group of trade associations in their...more
11/21/2023
/ Appeals ,
Banking Examinations ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
SCOTUS ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trade Associations ,
UDAAP
The CFPB, Fed, and OCC have announced that they are increasing three exemption thresholds that are subject to annual inflation adjustments. Effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024, these exemption thresholds are...more
11/15/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financial Transactions ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
OCC ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation M ,
Regulation Z ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In September 2023, the CFPB updated its UDAAP Examination Manual to remove the changes it made in March 2022 which provided that unfair acts or practices encompassed discriminatory conduct, even in circumstances to which...more
On November 6, the CFPB filed a notice with the Texas federal district court that it is appealing to the Fifth Circuit the district court’s order granting summary judgment to a group of trade associations in their lawsuit...more
A group of eleven Republican Senators who are members of the Senate Banking Committee have sent a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to urge the CFPB and DOJ to retract the joint...more
11/8/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Applicants ,
Credit History ,
Creditors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
Joint Statements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Regulation B
The Texas federal district court hearing the lawsuit challenging the validity of the CFPB’s final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act (Rule) has issued an order that preliminarily enjoins the CFPB from...more
10/31/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Funding ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
Recently the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a proposed consent order with Ameris Bank to resolve allegations of redlining from 2016 through 2021 in majority Black and Hispanic areas in the Bank’s Jacksonville,...more
10/30/2023
/ Banks ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement agreement with Washington Trust Company, of Westerly (WTC) to resolve claims that WTC redlined majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island....more
10/24/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Loan Officer ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
Rhode Island ,
Settlement
On Wednesday, by a vote of 53-44, the Senate voted to approve S.J. 32, the resolution introduced under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to override the CFPB’s final Section 1071 small business lending rule (1071 Rule)....more
10/20/2023
/ Congressional Review Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
CRA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
OCC ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans ,
True Lender
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Justice have issued a joint statement regarding “the potential civil rights implications of a creditor’s consideration of an individual’s immigration status under the...more
10/17/2023
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
Joint Statements ,
Regulation B ,
Regulation Z
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a case we have been following closely on Consumer Finance Monitor...more
The CFPB recently released a report entitled Data Point: 2022 Mortgage Market Activity and Trends based on 2022 data reported by lenders under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)....more