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Ohio judge finds ‘promise to pay’ may violate RESPA
Posted Date: Monday, January 10, 2022
A pair of borrowers have plausibly pled a brokerage firm and title company violated the anti-kickback provision of RESPA, even though the alleged promised bonus had not been paid at the time the lawsuit was filed, an Ohio court recently ruled. The defendants argued the buyers lacked standing to bring their claims because they did not suffer a concrete injury. However, the buyers claimed they were overcharged for settlement services.
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Fifth Circuit affirms Texas RESPA ruling
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
A Texas borrower sued his lender for allegedly foreclosing on him even though he complied with the terms of a trial loan modification. The borrower says he did not learn of the foreclosure sale until two months after it occurred—when the seller sought to evict him. The district court previously determined summary judgment was appropriate because the borrower did not timely accept the trial modification plan.
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CFPB increases RESPA, TILA civil penalty amounts
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made annual adjustments for inflation to its civil penalty amounts, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. The final rule became effective Jan. 15. The adjustments are designed to keep pace with inflation so civil penalties retain their deterrent effect and promote compliance with the law, according to the bureau’s final rule.
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CFPB: Don't penalize borrowers for being religious
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Some companies are unlawfully considering religion when making decisions on financial products, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Bureau examiners recently found lenders violated fair lending law by improperly inquiring about small-business applicants’ religious affiliation and by considering an applicant’s religious affiliation in the credit decision. The bureau is particularly concerned about how financial institutions might be making use of artificial intelligence and other algorithmic decision tools.
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CFPB settles with third-party payment processor
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a proposed final judgment and order to resolve a lawsuit against a third-party payment processor accused of scamming older adults. If entered by the court, the order would require the defendants to pay a civil penalty and permanently bar them from multiple consumer financial products and services industries.
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NAR: Homebuyers in 2021 viewed record low number of houses
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Homebuyers who bought a home last year only viewed a median of eight homes before purchasing – the lowest number ever reported since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began tracking that information. Read on for insight from NAR Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights Jessica Lautz.
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HUD provides more COVID-19 relief to tribal communities
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded more than $83 million in Indian Community Block Grant-American Rescue Plan (ICDBG-ARP) grants to 74 tribal communities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is HUD’s third round of ICDBG-ARP awards since the Biden administration announced it was committed to delivering equitable COVID-19 relief to tribal communities.
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CFPB task force violated sunshine law
Posted Date: Monday, January 17, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has settled a lawsuit related to a task force that was created to examine the existing legal and regulatory environment facing consumers and financial services providers. Democracy Forward filed suit in June 2020 in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts against the CFPB and former Director Kathy Kraninger on behalf of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, U.S. Public Interest Research Group and consumer law expert Suffolk University Prof. Kathleen Engel.
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Sixth Circuit affirms Michigan RESPA damages decision
Posted Date: Monday, January 17, 2022
A Michigan borrower sued her servicer for allegedly failing to properly respond to her qualified written requests and for violating the prohibition on dual tracking by pursuing a foreclosure while simultaneously reviewing her loan modification. The borrower requested actual damages for out-of-pocket expenses photocopying and obtaining certified copies of correspondence; lost time and inconvenience; late fees and denial of credit. She also sought additional statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
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FHA expands REO purchase opportunities
Posted Date: Monday, January 17, 2022
The Federal Housing Administration has increased its exclusive listing period on certain Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) single-family real-estate owned homes. This will allow more time for owner occupants, HUD-approved nonprofit organizations, and governmental entities to submit bids for the purchase of these homes before they become eligible for purchase by investors, the agency said.
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NAR: Home price appreciation strong
Posted Date: Monday, January 17, 2022
A homeowner who purchased a single-family existing home 10 years ago at the median sales price of $169,000 likely would have gained $225,000 in home equity if the home were sold at the median sales price of $363,100 in the third quarter of 2021. That’s according to a new study by National Association of Realtors Senior Economist Gay Cororaton, who examined housing wealth gains over the past three decades.
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DOJ resolves Texas discrimination lawsuit
Posted Date: Monday, January 17, 2022
The city of Arlington, Texas has agreed to pay $395,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging it violated the Fair Housing Act when it refused to support an affordable housing development that would have served low-income families with children. The suit alleged the city blocked the development of an affordable housing project proposed by Community Development Inc. that would have been financed by the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
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Industry comments on proposed Section 1071 rule
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has received more than 1,075 public comments on a proposed new rule designed to help small businesses gain access to credit by increasing transparency in the lending marketplace. The bureau said government agencies could use the data to aid fair lending, supervisory and enforcement efforts. But some industry trade groups say the rule would impose significant costs on banks, negatively affect consumers and do little to help fair lending.
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Maryland borrower files dual tracking lawsuit against servicer
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
A borrower sued his servicer for scheduling a sale of his Maryland property while he was allegedly engaging in good faith attempts to qualify for loss mitigation relief. The servicer argued the case should be dismissed under the doctrine of res judicata. As grounds for dismissal, the borrower claimed the defendants “continued to furnish requested documentation to the lender while no decision had been made on the [ ] loss mitigation package.”
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CFPB sues ‘shape-shifting’ debt collector
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued a debt collector and its owners for illegal debt-collection practices. The bureau alleged the defendants placed consumer debt with, or sold consumer debt to, collection companies that used unlawful and deceptive collection tactics. The defendants continued their unlawful practices despite having been the subject of a prior enforcement action, according to the suit.
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FinCEN assesses $8 million penalty for BSA violations
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed an $8 million civil money penalty against a Texas bank for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations. The bank admitted it willfully failed to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program or report hundreds of suspicious transactions to FinCEN involving illegal financial activity by its customers who were subjects of criminal investigations.
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Lead generator agrees to $1.5 million FTC penalty
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
A lead-generation company that collected sensitive information from millions of consumers under the guise of connecting them with lenders will pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and face restrictions on their operations as a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit. The proposed settlement order will prohibit the defendants from making misleading statements to consumers, including about how their personal information will be used.
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NAR releases sustainability report
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released a new report highlighting the association’s top sustainability accomplishments in 2021 within four categories: environment, social, governance and resilience. “Leading by example, NAR is driving the real estate industry toward a more efficient and sustainable future,” NAR CEO Bob Goldberg said.
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CFPB studies consumer finances
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
Despite a massive increase in unemployment starting in March 2020, consumers’ average financial situation improved in the first several months of the pandemic and continued to improve through June 2021, according to a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The report also showed consumers who reported receiving mortgage forbearance were also likely to receive other kinds of pandemic flexibility, such as help with their auto loan or credit card payments.
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CFPB: Credit bureaus seriously harming consumers
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
A new analysis by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reveals how changes in complaint responses provided by nationwide consumer reporting companies resulted in fewer meaningful responses and less consumer relief. In 2021, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion together reported relief in response to less than two percent of covered complaints. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra called the findings “evidence of serious harms stemming from the credit bureaus’ faulty financial surveillance business model.”
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DFPI provides mortgage relief program update
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) recently highlighted efforts that spurred participation in its mortgage relief program and helped forge a national model to protect homeowners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the pandemic, the DFPI issued a reporting requirement for residential mortgage servicing licensees to report how they would be protecting homeowners through increased mortgage relief staffing, mitigation efforts such as repayment plans, and state and federal mortgage relief funding.
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DOJ resolves Oklahoma race discrimination lawsuit
Posted Date: Friday, January 7, 2022
The Department of Justice has obtained a settlement agreement with the Housing Authority of the Town of Lone Wolf, Okla., and two of its former employees to resolve allegations they violated federal law when they denied housing to a Black mother and her young daughter because of their race. Under the settlement, the defendants must pay $75,000 in damages and take other actions to remedy their violations of the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Judge dismisses false advertising claims against NAR
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
A federal judge has granted the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) motion to dismiss claims the trade association engaged in false advertising or deceptive acts. However, a real estate technology company’s antitrust lawsuit against NAR and Zillow Group may still move forward.
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CFPB seeking tech whistleblowers
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is encouraging programmers, data scientists and others with knowledge of the algorithms and technologies used by companies to alert the agency of potential discrimination. CFPB Chief Technologist Erie Meyer noted that while algorithmic mortgage underwriting is sometimes hailed as a method to significantly reduce housing discrimination, and many of those designing the algorithms seek to create a fairer housing market, that’s not always the end result.
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CFPB shuts down fintech’s lending operations
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
An online lender has agreed to halt making any new loans and collecting on certain outstanding loans to resolve a lawsuit alleging it continued to engage in illegal and deceptive marketing in violation of a 2016 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau order. The lawsuit also accused the company of violating fair lending regulations. The order also would impose a civil money penalty based on the lender’s demonstrated inability to pay.
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Pending home sales decline
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Pending home sales slipped in November, receding slightly after a previous month of gains, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index fell 2.2. percent to 122.4 in November. Year-over-year, signings slid 2.7 percent. As housing demand remained high, Lawrence Yun, the trade association’s chief economist, explains some of the reasons why pending home sales took a turn for the worse.
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McWilliams resigns as FDIC chair
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chair Jelena McWilliams will resign from her post effective Feb. 4. McWililams, who became chair in June 2018 under the previous administration, recently sent a letter of resignation to President Joe Biden stating that serving the American people at the FDIC has been the highlight of her professional life.
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HUD provides $9 million loan to Cleveland for mixed use site
Posted Date: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a $9 million loan guarantee to Cleveland to develop a mixed-used site that includes nearly 200 housing units and a 40,000 square foot grocery store. Cleveland was chosen as a model to demonstrate how HUD’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program can serve as a critical source of federal financing to promote projects in distressed areas.
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California court dismisses TILA claim on remand
Posted Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021
A California district court has once again ruled in favor of a lender in a case of first impression under consumer credit transactions. The borrower claimed the alleged TRID loan disclosures did not accurately reflect the terms of the loan. The borrower was trustee of a trust created for personal estate planning purposes. She claimed she obtained the loan to make repairs to the property so the sole beneficiary of the trust could continue to live there.
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CFPB publishes threshold adjustment final rules
Posted Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued two annual threshold adjustment final rules. One of the rules amends the requirements of TILA to reflect a change in the asset-size threshold for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan based on the annual change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
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CFPB, DOJ warn mortgage servicers about veterans' rights
Posted Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Justice have issued two joint letters regarding legal housing protections for military families. One letter was sent to landlords and other housing providers. A second letter was sent to mortgage servicers regarding military borrowers who have already exited or will be exiting COVID-19 mortgage forbearance programs in the coming weeks and months. The bureau vowed to hold servicers accountable for illegal tactics against military families.
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Existing-home sales remain high
Posted Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021
Existing-home sales rose in November, marking three consecutive months of increases, according to the National Association of Realtors. Three of the four major U.S. regions reported growth in monthly sales, while the fourth region held steady in November. From a year-over-year perspective, only one region experienced a rise in sales as the three others saw home sales decline.
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HUD settles national origin discrimination claims
Posted Date: Thursday, December 30, 2021
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has reached a conciliation/voluntary compliance agreement resolving allegations accusing a group of California property managers of refusing to rent to or provide adequate language services for applicants with limited English proficiency.
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