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DS News Webcast: Tuesday 10/21/2014

Foreclosure, REO, News, Webcast

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Monday announced the finalization of a rule proposed in May that would allow companies that limit consumer data-sharing to post privacy notices online instead of delivering them individually. Financial institutions can now post privacy notices online under the new CFPB rule instead of sending paper copies if they meet certain requirements, such as not sharing data in a way that triggers the consumers' opt out rights. Under the new rule, consumers will have constant online access to their institution's privacy policy, as opposed to receiving a copy of the privacy policies just once a year.

The new rule will also give financial institutions incentive to limit their data sharing, since an institution that shares the data with an unaffiliated third party will trigger the consumer's opt out rights and make that institution ineligible to use the new online disclosure method. The online disclosure method of financial institutions' privacy policies will better educate consumers, since the government's model disclosure form will be used that allows consumers to easily understand their financial institutions' privacy policies. Also, CFPB estimates that financial institutions could save the industry about $17 million dollars a year by using the new online disclosure method.

Housing indicators cooled off slightly in September, marking the annual start of what is typically a slower season for the market, according to a report from listings site Realtor.com. At the national level, Realtor.com reported the median age of September's housing stock was 90 days, four days longer than August's median age as home shoppers back off for the season. Compared to last year, however, September's median inventory age was down three days, indicating demand is still there. The number of listings last month was approximately 1.87 million, down 2.7 percent annually and 7.9 percent monthly.