News By Edition

Phil Schulman literally wrote the book on RESPA.

Known in the settlement service industry for not only his legal expertise, but for his ability to put a crowd at ease with his self-deprecating humor, he is transitioning from his current role as Mayer Brown partner to a new role as senior counsel for the Washington, D.C. firm.

Schulman spoke to us about everything from growing up in upstate New York to his worst experiences telling jokes to a crowd. Read on for details in this open story.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued new guidance to help financial institutions increase access to fair and nondiscriminatory credit for people with limited English proficiency (LEP).

The statement provides guidelines institutions can use to help implement those principles and develop compliance solutions, including specific information about common components of a compliance management system.

Read on for highlights of the CFPB’s statement and remarks from then-Director Kathy Kraninger, who announced her resignation Wednesday.

The CFPB has accused the company of denying credit to consumers without giving consumers the “adverse action” notice required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act, among other allegations.  

Read on for more details from the bureau’s lawsuit.

National Association of Realtors (NAR) President Charlie Oppler represented the trade organization at a wreath-laying ceremony honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C.

Oppler acknowledged Realtors’ historic role in furthering residential segregation and opposing the federal Fair Housing Act. He said fighting housing inequality and racial discrimination in real estate as is one of the organization’s top priorities for 2021. Read on for details from NAR.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has reached a conciliation agreement with the owner and manager of senior apartments in Oklahoma accused of violating the Fair Housing Act by removing Bibles and Christian reading material from common areas.

Read on for details of HUD’s settlement.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has issued a proposed rule for the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate.

This new approach incorporates extensive stakeholder input to redesign the methods HUD uses to ensure properties are in a safe, decent, and sanitary condition. HUD is accepting public comment on all aspects of the proposed rule through March 15.

Read on for more details.

Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra has been nominated by President-elect Joe Biden to replace CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.

Biden’s choice is a sure sign the new administration is serious about enforcing RESPA and other laws affecting the financial services industry, according to experts who spoke to RESPA News.

Read on for reaction from Richard Horn, co-managing member of Garris Horn LLP, Sterbcow Law Group Partner Marx Sterbcow and Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr Partner Francis X. Riley III.

A Virginia mortgagor filed a class action RESPA lawsuit against his servicer’s successor-in-interest related to the successor’s failure to timely pay city property tax from funds deposited into the escrow account. 

A federal court granted the successor’s motion to dismiss. 

However, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed the lower court’s decision after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an amicus brief in support of the appellant. Read on for details.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Department of the Treasury have announced amendments to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements the agencies said will help ensure market stability and liquidity during the pandemic.

The amendments will allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to continue to retain earnings until they satisfy the requirements of the 2020 Enterprise Capital Rule.

Read on for reaction from the National Association of Realtors.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is reopening the comment period for its recent proposed rulemaking regarding certain transactions involving convertible virtual currency or digital assets with legal tender status.

Read on for details from FinCEN.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a new online tool to help individuals and families in need locate nearby resources. 

The tool will allow users to search for facilities that provide shelter, clothing, health clinics, and food pantries. Find Shelter provides mapping and contact information for these service providers and the site is optimized for mobile use. 

Read on for details from HUD.

The Columbia, S.C.-based law firm – which focuses on real estate law, title development and settlement services – eventually set itself apart by offering a traveling attorney model.

Read on for CEO Edward McDonnell’s advice on how to grow your business with affiliated relationships while remaining RESPA compliant in this open story.

A federal judge recently denied a lender’s motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging a kickback scheme between a bank and a title company resulted in borrowers paying inflated settlement fees.

The plaintiffs claimed the lender made illegal referrals to a title company for title and settlement services, and the title company laundered payments to the bank through third-party marketing companies.

The borrowers argued the alleged kickbacks violated RESPA. Read on for details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released its 2020 Financial Literacy Annual Report – much of which centered on the agency’s response to the coronavirus.

Congress specifically charged the bureau with ensuring consumers receive timely and understandable information needed to make responsible decisions about financial transactions. Each year, the bureau highlights its efforts in a broad range of financial literacy areas.

Read on for details from CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger.

Allard was designated by the American Council of State Savings Supervisors to complete the remainder of the two-year term left vacant by the early departure of Commissioner John Ducrest. Allard’s partial term on the SLC will expire on March 31, 2021.  

Read on for details from the FFIEC.

The current RESPA-induced settlement process creates competitive economic inefficiencies that raise the cost of mortgages for consumers.

The best solution is to create a competitive market where lenders benefit from low closing costs and are incentivized to drive the costs lower via all-encompassing closing packages, according to a new report by a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau taskforce.

Read on for details from the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law.

A group of Maryland borrowers filed a class action lawsuit alleging their servicer engaged in an illegal kickback scheme with a title company.

The defendant filed a motion to dismiss, claiming the plaintiffs do not sufficiently allege the servicer was not in RESPA’s safe harbor provisions. The servicer also claimed the RESPA claims are time-barred and the plaintiffs did not prove actual injury.

Read on for highlights of the judge’s ruling.

The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) has asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consider its top five list of 2021 priorities.

Read on for details from a letter from NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger to bureau Director Kathy Kraninger.

As Mayer Brown Partner Phil Schulman transitions to a new role as senior counsel at the Washington, D.C. firm, his friends and colleagues looked back on the RESPA expert’s contributions to the settlement service industry – and how he has kept them in stitches over the years with his unique sense of humor.

Read on for more from experts Brian Levy, Francis Riley III, Loretta Salzano, Marx Sterbcow and Ken Trepeta in this open story.

The servicer argued the case should be dismissed because the requested information was overly broad and unduly burdensome.

Read on to see why a magistrate judge has recommended the case move forward.

Industry stakeholders asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to address the problem of unmet credit needs among minority communities, and the role discrimination may have played in creating and exacerbating those deficits.

The CFPB recently issued an advisory opinion to clarify regulatory uncertainty regarding Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, as it applies to certain aspects of special purpose credit programs.

Read on for details.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a notice to alert financial institutions about the potential for fraud, ransomware attacks, or similar types of criminal activity related to COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution.

FinCEN said fraudsters have been offering to provide potential victims with the vaccine sooner than permitted under the applicable vaccine distribution plan.

Read on for specific instructions for filing Suspicious Activity Reports regarding COVID-19 vaccines.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a consent order against a former mortgage servicer accused of violating RESPA by sending numerous acknowledgment notices that failed to state the additional documents and information borrowers needed to submit to complete their loss mitigation applications.

Additionally, the company allegedly failed to provide a reasonable due date for submission of borrower documents.  

Read on for details from the consent order.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a final rule to implement Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requirements regarding certain disclosures for consumers.

The rule requires debt collectors to provide, at the outset of collection communications, detailed disclosures about the consumer’s debt and rights in debt collection, along with information to help consumers respond. It also prohibits debt collectors from suing consumers on time-barred debt.

Read on for more from the CFPB.

Pending home sales declined in November, according to a new National Association of Realtors (NAR) report. Month-over-month contract activity fell in each of the four major U.S. regions. However, compared to a year ago, all four areas achieved gains in pending home sales transactions.

Read on for more details from NAR.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit alleging an Oklahoma housing authority violated the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when they denied housing to an African-American applicant and her young child because of their race. 

The housing authority receives funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Read on for details from the DOJ’s suit and reaction from HUD.

Now that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has rescinded its controversial bulletin on marketing services agreements (MSAs), interest in advertising agreements is picking up once again.

October Research, LLC recently put together a webinar, “Mastering MSAs,” with two industry experts who detailed the do’s and don’ts of such marketing deals.

Read on for more from Sterbcow Law Group Partner Marx Sterbcow and Ray Cashen of William Raveis Real Estate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a panel report as part of its rulemaking process under Dodd-Frank Act Section 1071 governing the collection and reporting of small-business lending data.

Section 1071 requires financial institutions to collect certain data regarding applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses, and to report that data to the bureau on an annual basis. 

Read on for details from the report.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued guidance on the agency’s information sharing program under Section 314(b) of the PATRIOT Act, which provides financial institutions with the ability to share information with one another, under a safe harbor provision.

After receiving feedback from the financial industry, FinCEN is providing three main clarifications in a new fact sheet and rescinding previously issued guidance.

Read on for more from FinCEN.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make front-line bankers a high priority to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has already recommended “essential” banking employees be included in Phase 1B of the vaccine distribution effort.

Read on for details from ABA’s letter to CDC Dr. Jose Romero.