Tag Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both updated their seller guides to incorporate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Ability to Repay rule under the Truth in Lending Act. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) worked with the GSEs to update their respective seller guides in alignment with one another. The basic goal of the ""Ability to Repay"" rule is to ensure lenders act in good faith that a borrower can repay his or her loan before offering the loan.

After examining practices from mortgage servicers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found servicing problems such as disorganized account transfers and loss mitigation mistakes, according to a report. The CFPB's report was based on the examination of bank and non-bank servicers from November 2012 and June 2013. When pinpointing problems with mortgage servicing transfers, the CFPB identified risks that could lead to missed payments from consumers.

With Ben Bernanke set to leave his post as Federal Reserve chairman next January, we could be set for a history-making appointment. Lawrence Summers' appointment would appear to be justified looking solely at his resume, but it was at Harvard he may have shown his true colors. Janet Yellen is considered a ""dove"" on the Federal Open Market Committee--more concerned with unemployment than inflation and thus less likely to press for higher interest rates.

Since helping draft the final rule for a qualified mortgage, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Raj Date has resigned from the agency and opened his own advisory and investment firm aimed specifically at ""those borrowers who do not meet the standards for 'qualified mortgages' as set by the CFPB under rules."" Other senior employees at CFPB have also left to join Date, including Gary Reeder, Chris Haspel, and Mitch Hochburg. This turn of events has raised questions as to the agency's ethics and integrity.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint Tuesday against Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC over allegations that the company gave bonuses to loan officers who steered customers into mortgages with less favorable terms. The complaint, which was filed in federal district court in Utah, claims that under the direction of company president Matthew A. Pineda and Buck L. Hawkins, the SVP of capital markets, Castle & Cooke violated a rule from the Federal Reserve Board that bans compensation based on loan terms.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a lawsuit that not only challenges its authority to collect personal financial information from attorneys and their paraprofessionals but also deems unconstitutional the agency itself.

According to J.D. Power, overall satisfaction with servicers has increased to 733 (on a 1,000 point scale) from last year's value of 725. The market research firm attributes the increase to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's release of origination and servicing guidelines, most of which are scheduled to go into effect January 2014. Under the rules, servicers are required to have systems, policies, and procedures in place to ensure customers receive appropriate information and support.

The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). According to the Senate website, Cordray was confirmed in a 66-34 vote. News of the confirmation came hours after an announcement of a 71-29 vote for cloture, effectively putting to an end the debate surrounding Cordray's nomination.

Ben Bernanke was up at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to celebrate the Federal Reserve's 100th birthday. Despite being chairman of the Fed, instead of receiving a birthday gift, he gave a birthday gift--and Wall Street partied. Bernanke was generous in comments to the beleaguered housing sector when he listed his reasons for optimism about the economy. But Bernanke saved his biggest boost for stock investors when he made clear the Federal Reserve has no intention of abruptly raising interest rates or cutting back on its $85 billion a month bond purchase program.

Six financial regulatory agencies issued on Wednesday a proposed rule to exempt a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans from certain appraisal requirements. In a joint release, the agencies proposed to provide exemptions from Dodd-Frank appraisal requirements for loans of $25,000 or less, certain streamlined refinancings, and certain loans secured by manufactured housing.