CFPB Reveals Implementation Plan for New Rules

The ""Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ recently finalized several rules for the mortgage industry, including the ""ability-to-repay rule"":http://dsnews.comarticles/cfpb-releaes-long-awaited-qualified-mortgage-rule-2013-01-10 and ""new mortgage servicing guidelines"":http://dsnews.comarticles/cfpb-establishes-new-servicing-rules-to-prevent-foreclosure-2013-01-17. As the bureau prepares for the rules to take effect in January 2014, it aims to take several actions to educate and prepare both the industry and consumers on the new regulations.

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""Our plan is to work with the mortgage industry to ensure that the CFPB's new rules are implemented accurately and expeditiously,"" said Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB.

""Mortgage borrowers, who have dealt with much heartache since the financial crisis, deserve this level of attentiveness,"" Cordray added.

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Throughout this year, the CFPB will enact a consumer education campaign to help consumers become aware of their rights and protections under new regulations.

The CFPB will also publish a series of guides for the industry.

""Plain-language guides,"" which will be released this spring, will help companies understand the basic principles of the new rules. These guides will be available in both written and video format and ""will be particularly helpful to smaller businesses with limited staff for compliance,"" according to the CFPB.

""Readiness guides"" will also help industry participants understand how to comply with new regulations. These guides will include checklists and implementation plans and will be available later this year, according to the CFPB.

The Bureau will also release ""official interpretations"" of new regulations throughout the year to ""provide guidance on how to comply with the rules.""

The CFPB will create and release these interpretations on an as-needed basis to answer questions posed by the industry or consumer groups.

In addition to the guides, the CFPB plans to ease regulatory burden by coordinating with other government agencies that perform industry examinations. ""This will help promote a consistent regulatory experience for the industry,"" according to the CFPB.