On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its long-awaited and much anticipated proposal to amend Regulation X. As expected, the proposal focuses primarily on default servicing requirements and would impose an entirely new framework for regulating how loss mitigation is handled in the mortgage servicing industry. Other topics are
In a consent order with a reverse mortgage servicer on June 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) made the argument that failing to effectively service loans is abusive. The groundwork for this line of thinking was laid out by the current CFPB administration through various statements and guidance documents, but the public order
“Although there may be other constitutional checks on Congress’ authority to create and fund an administrative agency, specifying the source and purpose is all the control the Appropriations Clause requires.” With these words, seven members of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s funding mechanism and forestalled the possibility that
Mortgage companies must maintain a heightened level of vigilance when it comes to preventing mortgage fraud. The incidence of fraud attempts targeting mortgage companies continues to rise, prompting decisive action against this threat. In a criminal complaint filed on April 23, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the
While the Spring 2024 Supervisory Highlights report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) largely covered loss mitigation deficiencies and fee practices — issues that are regulatory priorities and, therefore, top of mind for mortgage servicers — two potentially under-the-radar findings outlined in the report are actually noteworthy and merit further analysis. First, in
The CFPB released its Supervisory Highlights, Mortgage Servicing Edition on April 24, 2024. These highlights share the CFPB’s findings from supervisory examinations completed between April 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023. Although only a portion of the Supervisory Highlights addresses fees, as discussed below, the CFPB’s Newsroom article is titled “CFPB Takes Action to
This week, in line with the CFPB’s ever-increasing focus on fair lending, Fannie Mae issued a Fair Servicing Best Practices Guide to promote “servicer awareness of fair servicing best practices.” Taking a big picture approach, the guide states that servicers should ensure that “all borrowers are treated consistently and fairly throughout the loan servicing
On February 16, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced what it heralded as a significant update to its Supervisory Appeals Process. The first of its kind since 2015, this revision introduced a seemingly more inclusive and flexible approach to how financial entities can contest supervisory findings. The appeals process is intended to promote
Based upon “the mortgage industry’s evolution over time, the advancement of technology, and due to no longer needing to maintain several branch offices to conduct FHA business nationwide,” the FHA has adopted a new rule regarding branch registration.
Under the prior rule, all FHA-approved mortgagees and lenders were required to register any branch office where
In an October 2023 advisory opinion, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) put large banks and credit unions on notice that the use of chatbots and other technologies could increase the risk of violating federal law if those services are ineffective. As we have previously written about, the CFPB’s advisory opinion interprets Section