Tag Archives: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

A reverse mortgage is a type of home loan that lets older homeowners access the equity they have built up on their homes and defer loan payment until they sell the home, move out, or pass away. The original purpose of reverse mortgages was to allow these homeowners to convert home equity into an income stream or line or credit to use in retirement. Reverse mortgages require no monthly mortgage payments, but borrowers must still pay property taxes and homeowner's insurance. The CFPB released a report that showed nearly 10 percent of reverse mortgage borrowers are at risk of foreclosure because they failed to pay those costs.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau faces a new legal challenge as a Texas community bank and two conservative groups launch a lawsuit to undo it and the financial reform law that created it two years ago. The suit challenges the constitutionality of the CFPB and Dodd-Frank Act, as well as Richard Cordray's appointment. A spokeperson for the CFPB said the lawsuit appears to dredge up old arguments that have already been discredited.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced several changes to its senior leadership Tuesday. New individuals will adopt the following roles at the bureau: Associate director of supervision, enforcement and fair lending; general counsel; senior advisor and counselor to the director; assistant directors for the office of financial empowerment and the office of financial education; and ombudsman.

Judicial Watch, a group dedicated to investigating and fighting possible government corruption, says it submitted a FOIA request on January 12 to CFPB seeking access to records of communications between the bureau, the White House, the Executive Office of the President, the Treasury, and Congress concerning Cordray's appointment to his post. That request also asked for records of communications between CFPB and the White House regarding Obama's visit to CFPB after the appointment, a move Politico referred to as a ""victory lap.""

Sparking indignation in the mortgage broker community, Raj Date, deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, laid the bulk of the blame for the housing crisis on brokers during a speaking engagement Monday. His statements have led at least one industry trade group to call for his resignation. Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, called Date's comments ""outrageous."" He said the group will call for the official's resignation this week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the FDIC, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency today released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to clarify how they will coordinate their supervisory activities.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is reopening a comment period regarding proposed ability-to-pay rules. The bureau reopened the comment period until July 9, 2012 to receive feedback on new data and information it received. The original comment period to the proposed rule closed on July 22, 2011.

The CFPB, created by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, is seeking to clarify procedures that would be used when examining nonbank activity. The bureau launched its nonbank supervision program in January this year as an extension of its bank supervision authority. The proposed rule defines procedures involved in notifying a nonbank that it is being considered for supervision by the CFPB based on reasonable cause.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Treasury issued a fraud alert Thursday warning the armed services community about scams targeting homeowners seeking mortgage assistance. The alert specifically warned about scammers attempting to exploit the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which can provide mortgage relief for struggling homeowners through modified payments.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled new rulemaking proposals Thursday that would require background checks for mortgage originators and complement a previous rule that prohibits loan officers from steering borrowers to higher-priced products. Together with these rules, others would provide consumers with discounts for paying mortgage origination points, mandate comparison plans for those interested in tracking different products, and ban brokerage firms from charging fees that vary by the loan size.