The current leadership of the CFPB has not been shy about highlighting the importance of fair lending—and it is becoming increasingly clear that fair lending and equity within the financial services industry is one of the CFPB’s greatest priorities under Director Rohit Chopra. Just last month, the CFPB released a blog post to discuss possible
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a focal point for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – especially with regard to mortgage servicers and loss mitigation programs. In its Fall Supervisory Highlights, the CFPB noted the increase in borrowers needing loss mitigation assistance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and cited mortgage servicers for two
In a December 13, 2021 letter to servicers, New York Attorney General Letitia James reminded servicers of their continuing obligations to assist New Yorkers amidst the pandemic and warned of enforcement actions against servicers that fail to do so. According to Attorney General James, “lack of preparedness is no excuse.” Instead, the Office of the
Now that the pandemic’s “social distancing” is lessening, we hope you are all able to gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving. As we do the same, we wanted to count our blessings as we review the year. This year, we are thankful for being able to return to our offices, our favorite restaurants, and
On November 10, 2021, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and state financial regulators issued a Joint Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding the Mortgage Servicing Rules in Response
On October 8, the governor of New York signed Bill No. AO-2260A to assist borrowers who need accommodation for visual impairments. Bill No. AO-2260A is “an act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring debt collectors to inform debtors that written communications are available in large print format” (or other different formats).
Late last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an interpretive rule that provided much-welcome guidance related to the effect of the new Juneteenth National Independence Day on disclosure waiting periods under the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule. According to CFPB Acting Director David Uejio, the Bureau “understand[s] that the quick enactment of
On July 23, 2021, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released Circular 26-21-13, which announced a new temporary modification called the COVID-19 Refund Modification. The COVID-19 Refund Modification and the COVID-19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment option are now both designed to help borrowers experiencing financial hardship related to COVID-19 bring their mortgages current
In a bid to avoid a wave of COVID-19-related foreclosures, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published Mortgagee Letter 2021-18 to lenders and servicers on July 23, 2021, that will allow borrowers with loans insured by the Federal Housing Agency (FHA) to extend the term of their mortgages and lock in lower monthly
In recent months, regulatory bodies throughout the federal government have focused on ways to promote greater access to financial products and services to limited English proficiency (LEP) consumers. Take for example the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) January 2021 statement encouraging financial institutions to better serve LEP consumers and examples of recent enforcement actions by