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News By Edition
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RESPA News Monthly Edition
RESPA News Monthly January 2018
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Mulvaney’s FSOC participation raises questions
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
At the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s (FSOC) final meeting of 2017, the group published its annual report, voted to approve the report and the minutes from its last meeting, and conducted business in executive session.
Among the members of FSOC taking part in the activities was Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney, who signed off on the annual report in his role as acting director and participated in both votes in open session.
The activity led some to wonder whether his appearance constituted a violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Why? Read on for more.
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HMDA delay bill introduced
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
Two weeks before the new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act rule is set to take effect, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) has filed a bill to delay the rule by one year.
The bill, H.R. 4648, is titled “To delay the effective date of certain regulations relating to home mortgage disclosures, to suspend certain data sharing requirements, and for other purposes.”
Read on for more details about the bill and when it would require companies to being reporting data.
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New York issues zombie property guidance
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
Following an enforcement action announced against PHH Mortgage Corp., the New York Department of Financial Services issued guidance to remind banks and mortgage servicers of their responsibilities to maintain vacant and abandoned properties across the state.
Among the key problems, the department said in the guidance, are that property registrations are not being updated in a timely manner.
Read on for more about what the department expects of mortgage holders and services when it comes to zombie properties in the state.
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How many non-responses constitute statutory damages?
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
When does a company’s non-response to qualified written requests become a pattern of non-compliance, and thus statutory damages as they are applied under RESPA?
Is five letters enough? A borrower in New Jersey argued that its servicer’s failure to respond to five QWRs was enough to show a pattern or practice of non-compliance. The servicer cited an earlier case when the New Jersey District Court ruled that a company which failed to respond to five letters until six months after the first was sent did not rise to the level of statutory damages.
This time, however, the district court ruled that the borrower provided a sufficient showing of statutory damages. Why? Read on to find out.
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HUD recognizes self-sufficiency program anniversary
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched a program to help households living in assisted housing to become self-sufficient.
HUD announced it would mark the 25th anniversary of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) by awarding $75 million to continue helping public housing residents, those participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program and residents of Project-Based Rental Assistance to further their education and find good jobs.
Read on for more about the program and remarks from HUD Secretary Ben Carson.
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NAR vows fight to restore net neutrality rules
Posted Date: Monday, December 18, 2017
After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to overturn net neutrality rules implemented by the agency in 2015, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) responded with a strong rebuke of the decision.
NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall said in a press release that the change could affect the way real estate transactions will be conducted in the future.
Read on for more about why this issue hits home for the association.
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States pledge to take CFPB’s enforcement role
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2017
As the battle for leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau continues to work its way through the court systems, a coalition of 17 state attorneys general wrote the president to say they supported the bureau and would continue enforcing consumer protection laws regardless of the status of CFPB leadership.
“If incoming CFPB leadership prevents the agency’s professional staff from aggressively pursuing consumer abuse and financial misconduct, we will redouble our efforts at the state level to root out such misconduct and hold those responsible to account,” their letter said.
Read on for more about the message and the states which signed on to it.
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NAR: Capital gains change could cost $7 billion in annual GDP
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2017
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) wrote to the chairmen of the House and Senate conference committee working on the tax cut proposal, shortly before the two sides said they came to agreement on a bill to prepare for a vote next week.
Among the areas which NAR pointed out to lawmakers was the capital gains exclusion for the sale of a principal residence. By changing current law, NAR said the country could see a $7 billion drop in annual GDP.
Read on for more areas of concern from the Realtors.
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CFPB updates TRID guide
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2017
In working to provide simplified guidance to new rulemaking, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced that it issued an update to its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms.
The update is available online at the bureau’s website, which includes a downloadable PDF of the guide.
Read along for more about the guide and what updates have been made to it.
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Veteran alleges RESPA violation in loss mitigation process
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2017
A former Navy veteran living in Virginia filed suit against his servicer to prevent foreclosure, after following instructions to allow his mortgage to fall into default, then being denied a loan modification.
He cited RESPA violations in the loss mitigation process in his complaint. The servicer claims the veteran did not sufficiently allege actual damages.
Did the district court in Virginia allow injunctive relief for the veteran under RESPA? Read on for the details.
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CFPB Ombudsman office reports more work in 2017
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2017
The annual report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Ombudsman office shows that inquiries rose about 14 percent in 2017 from a year earlier.
Individuals contacting the office on their own behalf made up the overwhelming majority of inquiries in fiscal 2017.
Read on for more about the focus and results for the Ombudsman office in 2017, including its work with consumer questions on the complaint database, joining the company portal and how stakeholders engage with the regulatory process.
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President in middle of CFPB activity
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
President Donald Trump is the primary defendant in the case filed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Leandra English over the rightful acting director of the bureau.
However, the president has injected himself into more of the CFPB’s activities in the past week.
He became the lead defendant in a case filed by a New York credit union, and following a Reuters report that his appointed acting director, Mick Mulvaney, was postponing an enforcement action against Wells Fargo, the president took to Twitter to respond.
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English cites FDIC in motion for preliminary injunction
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Leandra English has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as the acting director of the bureau.
English’s motion, filed with the D.C. District Court, “requests expedited treatment due to the exigency of the circumstances and the irreparable nature of the injury the injunction would prevent.”
The motion cites three reasons for the request, and references the director’s role with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in its arguments. Read on for more.
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Trades support insurance clarification bill
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
A group of insurance trade associations, including the American Land Title Association, wrote to a House subcommittee in support of H.R. 3746, the Business of Insurance Regulatory Reform Act of 2017.
The bill, which was discussed by the Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit in a recent hearing, would clarify the extent to which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has authority over the insurance industry.
Read on for more about the language of the bipartisan bill and the associations’ letter in support.
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Hensarling backs DeMarco-Bright plan for reform
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
In a speech before the “Future of the U.S. Housing Market” event in Washington, House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) detailed his principals for reforming the market through legislation.
Among the areas cited in his presentation was a proposal authored by former Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Ed DeMarco and Ginnie Mae acting director Michael Bright.
Read on for more of Hensarling’s ideas for secondary market reform, including the elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Plaintiff sues servicer over assigned claims
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
A New York plaintiff who had been assigned claims pursuant to TILA and RESPA by the original borrower sued the loan servicer for $9,000 to settle all the borrower’s claims against it.
The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of New York ruled on the TILA and RESPA claims before deciding whether the assignment of claims by the original borrower had been lawful.
Read on to find out why the court ruled the plaintiff’s TILA and RESPA claims failed.
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CFPB reverses course, suspends CID investigation
Posted Date: Monday, December 11, 2017
In a stunning reversal Monday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) agreed to suspend its investigation and request for a civil investigation demand (CID) of Nexus Services, the company announced in a press release.
Nexus filed for a preliminary injunction last week after Richard Cordray had resigned as director of the CFPB. In a conference hearing Monday, Nexus said the bureau dropped its demands, leaving the injunction moot.
Read on for more on the case.
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Expectation at heart of satisfaction with closings
Posted Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017
In a recent survey by J.D. Power, the headline information appeared to be that consumers reported declining satisfaction with mortgage closings, in part because of a perception that the process was moving slower despite more online interaction involved.
But Craig Martin, director of the mortgage practice at J.D. Power, told RESPA News the findings in the J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study were a bit more complicated than the headline finding.
As lenders have gotten more accustomed to making loans under TRID rules, their ability to more likely target correct closing dates might be affecting survey findings on borrower expectations with the process. Read on for more details and insight.
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Industry airs concerns over rising ADA lawsuit
Posted Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017
It has been seven years since the Department of Justice issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on website compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
As the years have gone on without a final rulemaking, banks and credit unions are reporting a steady increase in the number of lawsuits filed against them for failure to comply with ADA regulations.
One credit union trade association recently wrote to the Justice Department to ask for progress, while the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing titled “The Impact of Lawsuit Abuse on American Small Businesses and Job Creators” that touched on those themes. Read on for more about the incidents.
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Brief gives glimpse into bureau CID requests
Posted Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017
Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a civil investigative demand (CID) to Synchrony Financial to determine “whether banks or other persons have engaged or are engaging in unlawful acts and practices in connection with the marketing and servicing of deferred-interest credit cards.”
The bureau denied Synchony’s petition to set aside the request, as it has in each of the 22 orders in which it has ruled upon since opening its doors. However, in a supplemental brief filed with Synchrony’s petition, the company included correspondence from the CFPB on a “market-monitoring” data request made in addition to its CID request.
So what was the CFPB looking for in the data request, much of which Synchrony said was also the subject of the bureau’s CID?
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Citibank cited for alleged errors in student loan servicing
Posted Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017
In a companion enforcement action to a 2015 enforcement against Discover, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) cited Citibank for errors and failures it alleged in its servicing of student loans.
In a consent order announced shortly before Director Richard Cordray resigned from the CFPB, Citibank was charged with incorrectly charging borrowers late fees and adding interest to loans which should have been deferred until the students stopped attending school. Citi also was alleged to mislead borrowers by not clearly explaining that they were eligible for a tax deduction on the interest paid on their student loans.
Read on for more about the reaction, and what the CFPB will require Citi to do moving forward.
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House begins process to repeal payday rule
Posted Date: Thursday, December 7, 2017
As Mick Mulvaney finished his first week as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) following his appointment by President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives began work on overturning the most recently approved CFPB rule.
A bill of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act was introduced last week which would overturn the recently finalized rule on small-dollar lending. The rule was issued in October but was not published in the Federal Register until Nov. 17.
Read on for more about the introduction of the bill.
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English to file for injunction
Posted Date: Monday, December 4, 2017
Attorneys for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Leandra English said in a court filing Friday evening that she expected to file a preliminary injunction in her case by Tuesday. A published report Friday said she remains in contact with CFPB managers and is directing them on their job responsibilities.
That would contradict Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, who twice this week has emailed CFPB staff and managers to disregard English’s requests as acting director and to report any correspondence from her that is not personal to the agency’s general counsel.
In addition, Mulvaney has added an assistant to help his work at the bureau. Read on for more details.
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Senate committee to discuss finreg bill
Posted Date: Monday, December 4, 2017
Today the Senate Banking Committee has a mark-up hearing to discuss its version of finreg legislation called the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act.
The legislation has bipartisan sponsorship and would have changes directly affecting TRID and HMDA rules. Its passage out of committee is likely, but it does face opposition from Democratic committee members including Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
Read on for details of the bill and how it would change provisions affecting TRID and HMDA.
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Mulvaney likes staff, if not CFPB itself
Posted Date: Monday, December 4, 2017
In an interview Thursday night following his first week at work as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) acting director, Mick Mulvaney said that work had gone “extraordinarily smoothly.”
Although Mulvaney has been publicly called out since his appointment for comments made when he called the CFPB a joke and suggested it should be closed, the director of the Office of Management and Budget professed a respect for CFPB employees in the interview.
However, he also suggested the bureau remained unaccountable and needed to be changed. Read on for more from the interview.
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Stratmor picks industry brain for top priorities
Posted Date: Monday, December 4, 2017
The latest edition of the Stratmor Insights report from Stratmor Group explores the top four areas which lenders say are at the top of their minds heading into 2018.
The list comes from conversations with industry leaders, particularly those in attendance at the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention in Denver in October.
After discussions, four areas stood out, which Dr. Matt Lind explored in the main story for the report. Read on for more details.
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Senators say they’ll stop ‘rogue employee’ at CFPB
Posted Date: Monday, December 4, 2017
Nine Republican senators wrote Consumer Financial Protection Bureau acting director Mick Mulvaney to say they intended to repeal any rules issued by Deputy Director Leandra English.
In the letter, the senators refer to English as a “rogue employee” and say the CFPB is being run as a fourth branch of government.
Read on for more from the letter to Mulvaney.
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Reactions from Mulvaney’s first day
Posted Date: Thursday, November 30, 2017
On an historical first working day at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) without Richard Cordray as director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney brought donuts for staff, met with senior leadership and held a press conference to announce a 30-day freeze to all hiring and new rules, regulation and guidance at the CFPB.
Mulvaney held a press conference at the bureau following his first day to discuss the freeze and immediate action, while Press Secretary Sarah Sanders’ daily press conference was dominated by questions about the CFPB and Mulvaney’s role.
Read on for reactions from Mulvaney and Sanders after a tumultuous day in the post-Cordray era.
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Inside the abnormal normal day at CFPB
Posted Date: Thursday, November 30, 2017
Richard Horn spent three years at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and was the leading author of the bureau’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule.
The principal of Richard Horn Legal PLLC looked at the events happening Monday at his former office and talked with RESPA News about some of the questions which staffers might be facing.
Deputy Director Leandra English filed suit Sunday night against President Donald Trump over his appointment of Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as acting director. Mulvaney came to the CFPB headquarters early Monday morning for his first day as acting director, while English referred to herself as acting director in an email to staff to thank them for their work.
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TRO denial calms CFPB tensions
Posted Date: Thursday, November 30, 2017
After a contentious two days – in which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) effectively was operating with two acting directors – D.C. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly put a temporary end to the dispute when he refused to grant Deputy Director Leandra English a temporary restraining order on President Donald Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney as acting director.
Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), returned to the CFPB offices Thursday after spending a day back at OMB.
Although Kelly’s ruling has calmed the tumultuous waters for now, the battle for leadership at the CFPB appears far from over.
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Court to decide CFPB director
Posted Date: Monday, November 27, 2017
“There is established the position of Deputy Director, who shall— (A) be appointed by the Director; and (B) serve as acting Director in the absence or unavailability of the Director.”
Those 30 words in 848 pages of the Dodd-Frank Act are at issue as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found itself Monday with two people staking a claim as the acting director of the bureau, replacing Richard Cordray.
They have become part of a legal battle now, with Deputy Director Leandra English filing a lawsuit Sunday night against President Donald Trump over his appointment of Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as acting director. English asked for an emergency hearing and a temporary restraining order against the appointment while the court considers the case.
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New day, two new CFPB directors
Posted Date: Monday, November 27, 2017
The action played out Monday like Greek drama, with the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in doubt throughout.
On the first working day following the resignation of CFPB Director Richard Cordray, two people laid claim to the title of acting director in his absence. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney showed up just before 8 a.m. at CFPB headquarters as the president’s appointed interim director, carrying a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and later shown to be reviewing a transition book of the CFPB in the director’s office.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director Leandra English – who filed suit Sunday night for a temporary restraining order halting the appointment of Mulvaney – emailed staff shortly after pictures of Mulvaney in the director’s office were sent via Twitter.
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Cordray resignation starts uncertain cycle
Posted Date: Monday, November 27, 2017
On Black Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was left in the dark about its leadership.
Director Richard Cordray announced early in the day that he would resign his position, effective at midnight, and named a deputy director to take over as Cordray’s replacement.
Hours later, President Donald Trump announced that he officially named Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney as the acting director, a move the president believes he can make under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. So who is in charge, and can the CFPB function while two acting directors appear to be in place?
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Bureau action targets software provider
Posted Date: Monday, November 27, 2017
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against a software company for providing what it said was a flawed product that caused auto lenders to incorrectly report information on consumers to credit reporting agencies.
The public enforcement action cites five lenders which reported the incorrect information, but does not contain any penalties or action for the lenders in the consent order. Instead, the software company is told to identify and correct errors, file a compliance plan with the bureau and pay a $1.1 million penalty.
Read on for more about the company and the case.
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