Within approximately 48 hours, starting on the evening of Friday, February 7, 2025, the trajectory of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was significantly altered. Among other things, a new acting director was installed, a more comprehensive internal pause – one that now explicitly covers supervision, examination, and enforcement activities – was put in place

This past year, the False Claims Act (FCA) continued to be a key tool for the Justice Department and whistleblowers to bring suits against companies, including those in the financial services sector. The Justice Department secured 558 FCA settlements and judgments and collected $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2024. Whistleblowers were responsible for 979 qui

With changes in leadership eminent and changes in regulatory priorities likely to follow, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the CFPB kicked off 2025 with a pair of significant fair lending actions. On January 7, 2025, the United States filed a complaint against The Mortgage Firm, Inc., alleging violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Amid recent technological advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, on January 17, 2025, the CFPB issued its Winter 2025 Supervisory Highlights: Advanced Technologies Special Edition. This edition of Supervisory Highlights delivers critical industry reminders regarding the balance between regulatory requirements and technological innovation. As an appropriate summation of the CFPB’s overarching worldview, the

In a bit of a surprise development at the end of 2024, the United States Senate passed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to include specific restrictions on the use of trigger leads in the residential mortgage lending space. While industry groups applauded the Senate’s passage of

On January 7, 2025, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) officially revised its Defect Taxonomy (Final Defect Taxonomy) with the publication of Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2025-01 and the related attachment detailing those changes. The changes are effective as of January 15, 2025, and will be implemented in Appendix 8.0 of FHA Handbook 4000.1 at a later

On December 19, 2024, the Fair Housing Administration (FHA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a draft Mortgagee Letter proposing a new Optional Reimbursement Claim Alternative (ORCA) program. ORCA is intended to allow mortgagees to seek reimbursement for property tax and insurance payments the mortgagee advances on behalf of forward

On December 17, 2024, amid a flurry of activity by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the agency released an Issue Spotlight discussing “problems with mortgage companies” that homeowners face “after divorce or [the] death of a loved one.” The report relies on consumer complaints that have been submitted through the CFPB’s complaint portal to

On December 12, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its final rule, redefining overdraft fees as finance charges in order to limit overdraft fees. The final rule seeks to regulate how overdraft fees are charged and collected in an effort to save consumers money. The CFPB believes the new rule will save