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Industry seeks guidance on sexual orientation and gender identity issues
Posted Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
One of the first things President Joe Biden did after taking office was issue an executive order directing federal agencies to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau quickly announced they plan to support the new edict. However, the financial services industry continues to seek more guidance on how sex and gender identity fits into fair lending, according to Ballard Spahr Partner Richard Andreano.
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CFPB releases report on pandemic foreclosures
Posted Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a report detailing how the agency has helped struggling homeowners avoid another foreclosure crisis through its supervision and enforcement activities. As of October 2021, there were still approximately 1.25 million homeowners who remained in COVID-19 related forbearance.
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Regulators announce return to enforcement of mortgage servicing rules
Posted Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators have announced that a previous joint statement which provided flexibility on certain timing requirements in Regulation X will no longer apply. Servicers will now be expected to fully comply with the rules, including the recently implemented COVID-19 amendments.
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CFPB sues pawn lenders
Posted Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal district court against two companies accused of violating the Military Lending Act by charging higher than the allowable 36 percent annual percentage rate on pawn loans to active duty servicemembers and their dependents.
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Median sale prices rising
Posted Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
Strong homebuyer demand and limited housing supply led to median sales prices rising for existing single-family homes in all but one of 183 measured markets in the third quarter of 2021, according to the latest quarterly report from the National Association of Realtors.
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FEMA executive talks flood insurance at NAR conference
Posted Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
The National Association of Realtors hosted Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Senior Executive of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) David Maurstad at the 2021 REALTORS Conference & Expo in San Diego for an update on the NFIP’s new Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action system.
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Senators ask CFPB to fix broken credit reporting system
Posted Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
Democratic senators have asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to take concrete steps to reform the credit reporting industry. The senators urged CFPB Director Rohit Chopra to use the CFPB’s existing supervisory, rulemaking, and enforcement authority over the largest nationwide consumer reporting agencies.
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New York man sues servicer, former HUD secretary for alleged TRID violations
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
A New York man filed a lawsuit over alleged misconduct in the servicing of his reverse mortgage. He later filed a second amended complaint accusing Nationstar Mortgage and former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson of violating TRID.
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RESPRO: California DFPI’s escrow proposals are overly broad
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) could be exceeding its authority with its new escrow proposals, according to RESPRO President and Executive Director Ken Trepeta.
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CFPB cracks down on 'name-only matching'
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued an advisory opinion providing guidance on consumer reporting agencies’ obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as “name-only matching.” This occurs when a consumer reporting agency uses only first and last name to determine whether a particular item of information relates to a particular consumer, without using other personally identifying information such as address, date of birth or Social Security number.
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FHA publishes new manufactured home policy
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
The Federal Housing Administration has published revised and enhanced policies under its Single-Family Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program for lenders to provide loans for the financing of manufactured homes, including those titled as personal property, and the lots on which these homes will reside.
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FinCEN renews Geographic Targeting Orders
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has renewed its Geographic Targeting Orders that require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate.
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REX responds to latest allegations by NAR, Zillow
Posted Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
A real estate technology company has once again asked a judge to find its antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Zillow Group should be allowed to proceed. REX sued the defendants in March, claiming its competitive mode is threatened by the concerted action of NAR and Seattle-based Zillow, along with their multiple listing services affiliates.
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CFPB announces leadership changes
Posted Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has two new leaders. Read on to find out more about the bureau’s new assistant director for supervision policy and assistant director of the Office of Enforcement.
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GAO studies HUD’s homeless youth programs
Posted Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended ways the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) can help youth who are homeless. Although HUD and HHS provide grants to local organizations to operate programs like shelters or transitional living programs, many youth who are homeless may not be receiving services they may be eligible for, a new GAO study found.
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CFPB: Black and Hispanic neighborhoods have more credit disputes
Posted Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
Consumers in majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, as well as younger people and those with low credit scores, are far more likely to have disputed items appear on their credit reports. That’s according to new research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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HUD allocates $13 million for victims of pandemic discrimination
Posted Date: Monday, November 8, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will provide $13.6 million in American Rescue Plan funding to conduct fair housing enforcement and education and outreach activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the activities that will be conducted by the organizations is addressing discriminatory practices in underserved communities.
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Chopra testifies before Congress on mortgage servicing, consumer protection
Posted Date: Friday, October 29, 2021
Rohit Chopra made his first public appearances since being sworn in as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new director. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Chopra discussed current economic conditions, market monitoring and the path forward.
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NAR, Zillow ask judge to dismiss antitrust suit
Posted Date: Friday, October 29, 2021
Zillow and the National Association of Realtors have asked that an Austin, Texas, real estate technology company’s federal antitrust complaint against them be dismissed based on new information. REX sued the defendants in March, claiming its competitive mode is threatened by the concerted action of NAR and Seattle-based Zillow, along with their multiple listing services affiliates.
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NAR: Home prices calming down
Posted Date: Friday, October 29, 2021
Pending home sales declined in September, following a previous month of growth, according to the National Association of Realtors.. Each of the four major U.S. regions saw contract activity decline month-over-month and year-over-year.
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HUD, Congress commemorate tribal Self-Determination Act anniversary
Posted Date: Friday, October 29, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently held a virtual event with tribal leaders, housing practitioners and members of Congress to recognize the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act.
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Texas borrower sues servicer for dual tracking
Posted Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
A Texas woman asked a judge to set aside a foreclosure sale and cancel the trustee’s deed, claiming the servicer violated RESPA by engaging in dual tracking. The servicer argued it had every right to conduct the sale because the borrower defaulted on her mortgage and failed to comply with a trial payment plan.
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TILA threshold adjustments announced
Posted Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a final rule amending the official interpretations for Regulation Z, which implements TILA. The bureau is required to calculate annually the dollar amounts for several provisions in Regulation Z.
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HUD settles LEP claim with Arizona housing providers
Posted Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reached a voluntary compliance agreement with the owner and property manager of a Phoenix housing provider accused of failing to provide adequate language services for a resident with limited English proficiency.
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FDIC seeks to amend real estate lending standards
Posted Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has adopted a final rule to incorporate consideration of the community bank leverage ratio rule, which does not require electing institutions to calculate Tier 2 capital or total capital, into the method for calculating the ratio of loans in excess of the supervisory loan-to-value limits.
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DOJ settles Minneapolis sexual harassment suit
Posted Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Department of Justice has obtained a consent decree with several defendants accused of subjecting 23 women to severe and repeated sexual harassment and retaliation at Minneapolis rental properties. Read on for details from the consent order.
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DOJ announces anti-redlining initiative
Posted Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
The Department of Justice has launched a Combatting Redlining Initiative to prevent the illegal practice in which lenders avoid providing services to individuals living in communities of color. The new initiative represents the department’s most aggressive and coordinated enforcement effort yet to address redlining.
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CFPB, DOJ and OCC sue bank for alleged redlining
Posted Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Department of Justice (DOJ), in cooperation with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, have sued a Jackson, Miss.-based lender for alleged redlining. The CFPB and DOJ accused Trustmark National Bank of discriminating by deliberately not marketing, offering or originating home loans to consumers in majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in the Memphis metropolitan area.
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CFPB targets tech giants
Posted Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a series of orders to large technology companies to collect information on the way they use personal payments data. The initial orders were sent to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal and Square.
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CBA urges CFPB to end regulation by enforcement
Posted Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) has released a new white paper urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to use rulemaking and informal written guidance rather than enforcement to create new guidelines or interpret existing regulatory standards. CBA released “The Case For Regulation Through Rulemaking & Guidance” following the official swearing-in of Rohit Chopra as the director of the CFPB last month.
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FinCEN studies ransomware trends in BSA reporting
Posted Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a financial trend analysis on ransomware trends in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting filed between January 2021 and June 2021. FinCEN’s report was in response to the increase in number and severity of ransomware attacks against U.S. critical infrastructure since late 2020.
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Existing-home sales bounce back
Posted Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
Existing-home sales rebounded in September after waning the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Each of the four major U.S. regions experienced increases on a month-over-month basis.
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Hawaii borrower sues servicers over alleged illegal desk rental agreements
Posted Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
A Hawaii borrower sued his servicers for allegedly entering into co-marketing agreements using online platforms and desk rental agreements to illegally refer mortgage loan business. The borrower, who also claimed the servicers failed to provide him with the required right to rescind disclosure, sought rescission of his loan and statutory damages under TRID.
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Prison financial services company hit with $6 million CFPB consent order
Posted Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken action against the prison financial services company JPay, which is accused of violating the Consumer Financial Protection Act by charging consumers fees to access their own money on prepaid debit cards that consumers were forced to use.
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CFPB, FTC and DOJ unite against tech companies
Posted Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission and North Carolina Department of Justice have banned together to file an amicus brief in support of the consumer plaintiffs in a case filed against a public records website.
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FDIC issues Hurricane Ida guidance
Posted Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Federal Deposit of Insurance Corp. announced a series of steps intended to provide regulatory relief to financial institutions and speed up recovery in areas of Pennsylvania affected by Hurricane Ida. The agency told bankers prudent efforts to adjust terms on existing loans in affected areas should not be subject to examiner criticism.
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HUD settles COVID-19 complaint against Alabama housing providers
Posted Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has signed a voluntary compliance agreement with the owners of a community in Fairhope, Ala. The agreement resolves allegations into whether the owners’ policy prohibiting visitors under the age of 12 due to COVID-19 was discriminatory.
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HUD spends $15 million to reduce housing-related safety issues
Posted Date: Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded $15.7 million to 18 universities, public health and housing organizations to conduct housing-related hazard and energy efficiency research studies. The research grants will aim to identify and improve methods for detecting and controlling lead and other housing-related health and safety hazards.
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