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Britney Crawford is an associate in the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Practice Group. Her practice is focused on regulatory and compliance matters related to financial and mortgage institutions and lenders. Britney also has experience assisting clients in responding to and resolving government investigations by federal regulators.

On May 31, 2023, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published a draft Mortgagee Letter (ML) titled “Proposed Payment Supplement Partial Claim.” The draft ML proposes use of available partial claims funds to create a new loss mitigation option to assist struggling borrowers.

Generally, a partial claim is an interest-free subordinate loan issued by

Consistent with concerns surrounding bias in property valuations, on June 8, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “board”), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued proposed guidance on

In a continuation of enforcement activity related to redlining under October 2021’s Combatting Redlining Initiative, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 31, 2023, that ESSA Bank & Trust has agreed to pay $3 million to settle allegations that it engaged in redlining, a discriminatory practice in which lenders fail to provide

Affirming its commitment to the senior citizen population, on May 17, 2023, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued Mortgagee Letter 2023-10, implementing amendments to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) assignment claim submission criteria.

As a bit of background, a HECM is a reverse mortgage insured by the FHA. HECMs, as any reverse mortgage

In light of growing concerns, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) held its first hearing on appraisal bias on January 24, 2023, at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters. The FFIEC, a federal interagency body comprised of the Board of Governs of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance

On December 15, 2022, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-23, establishing the COVID-19 Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Property Charge Repayment Plan.

The COVID-19 HECM Property Charge Repayment Plan would aid HECM borrowers in covering costs associated with standard property charges. As a condition of their loan, HECM borrowers are required

On December 19, 2022, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued an additional extension of the temporary waiver of face-to-face contact required under 24 CFR § 203.604 Contact with the Mortgagor, under Mortgagee Actions under Subpart C – Servicing Responsibilities of 24 CFR Part 203 Single Family Mortgage Insurance.

Pursuant to 24 CFR § 203.604

On August 31, 2022, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released Mortgagee Letter 2022-15 titled “Update to Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program Requirements for Notice of Due and Payable Status.”

Mortgagee Letter 2022-15 modifies a HECM mortgagee’s notification requirements to a borrower’s estate after a loan becomes due and payable due

On July 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Trident Mortgage Company LP for alleged discrimination against minority families in the greater Philadelphia area.

According to the CFPB’s press release