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Getting ready for HMDA: What you need to know
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Shortly after the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rules went into effect, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the finalization of another significant rulemaking under the Dodd-Frank Act: Amendments to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act that expand the number of data fields and loan products that will need to be reported. Don’t let the two-year implementation period fool you – the time to get started is now.
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An in-depth look at the Fed’s emergency lending rule
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
More than two years after the Federal Reserve took comments on a proposed rule to amend its emergency lending practices, the Fed finalized the policies and procedures for its emergency lending practices. The final rule adopts all of the Dodd-Frank-mandated limitations and revisions, as well as revisions made pursuant to the comments the Fed received. Read on for the full details of the rule, and learn whether the Fed can extend credit to institutions as it did to Bear Stearns and AIG in 2007-08.
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SEC proposes payment disclosure rules for resource extraction
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed rules pursuant to Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act that would require resource extraction issuers, their subsidiaries and any entities under their control to disclosure annual reports of payments made to both the U.S. federal government and foreign governments for the commercial development of oil, natural gas or minerals. Read on for more details.
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NCUA proposals would expand federal credit unions’ membership reach
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2015
The National Credit Union Administration Board unanimously approved a proposal to amend its chartering and field-of-membership rules. If approved, the rule will, among other things, expand federally chartered credit unions’ geographic areas. Although the goal is to ensure greater access to financial services provided by credit unions, Independent Community Bankers of America President and CEO Camden Fine warned that the rules will turn credit unions into “tax-free full commercial banks.”
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Ombudsman: Areas where the CFPB can improve
Posted Date: Friday, December 11, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Ombudsman’s Office released its annual report, addressing concerns regarding the bureau’s press releases, consumer complaint portal and field hearings. Read on to hear what trade groups and companies had to say and what the ombudsman recommended.
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OIG introduces new planned project for auditing CFPB’s data security
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2015
The Office of the Inspector General released its latest Work Plan, adding a new planned project for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Assessing the bureau’s effectiveness within it processes and technologies for encrypting sensitive data stored on mobile devices. The report also detailed other planned projects from the bureau as well as for the Federal Reserve System. Read on for more details.
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CFPB releases CARD Act report, CUNA responds to Cordray’s remarks
Posted Date: Friday, December 11, 2015
Appearing before the Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray discussed some of the key findings of a report on the impacts of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act. Cordray took a moment to state that industry claims that regulatory burden would restrict consumer access to credit had been proven false more than once. Read on to learn more about the CARD Act report and what the Credit Union National Association had to say in response.
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Investors go after Citigroup for $2 billion RMBS losses
Posted Date: Thursday, December 3, 2015
Citigroup Inc. is being sued by some of its investors, including Pacific Investment Management Co. The plaintiffs are claiming that the bank breached its duties as trustee from 2004 to 2007 by ignoring “pervasive and systemic deficiencies” in how loans were underwritten and serviced. See the details of the case here.
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FDIC releases new cybersecurity resources
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2015
As part of its Community Banking Initiative, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has released new materials on cybersecurity, including a video on cybersecurity awareness and three new vignettes for the Cyber Challenge, a series of exercises designed to encourage internal discussions on operational risks. Read on for more details.
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Conclusory accusations do not make a valid RESPA claim, court says
Posted Date: Monday, November 9, 2015
When a California borrower attempted to bring a RESPA claim against his servicers, the court was forced to dismiss the claim without prejudice, giving the litigant one more chance to file a complaint that states a claim upon which relief may be granted. See if the litigant does any better the second time around here.
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CUNA proposes ending dual membership mandate
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
After declining to follow a report from its task force suggesting an end to the dual-membership mandate for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), CUNA reversed ground last week and said it would work to restructure its bylaws to end the dual-membership mandate. Read on for details of what the move would mean for the credit union industry.
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Unsubstantiated debt portfolio leads collector to $1.85 million penalty
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2015
A third-party debt seller’s failure to substantiate debt statuses can lead to trouble with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. After failing to verify the statuses of debts purchased from AT&T, a debt collector has been found to be in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition of deceptive acts or practices under UDAAP, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Read on for more details.
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RushCard’s processor must comply with CID
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has denied UniRush LLC’s petition to set aside the civil investigation demand it received from the bureau Oct. 27, two weeks after the prepaid product RushCard experienced system outages that left hundreds of thousands of customers without access their accounts. Why did the system processor’s arguments fail to sway the bureau? Read on to find out.
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ABA voices concerns about FDIC small business lending survey
Posted Date: Friday, December 11, 2015
In response to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Paperwork Reduction Act request for approval of its proposed “Small Business Lending Survey,” the American Bankers Association expressed concerns regarding the format, arguing that certain items may end up being overlooked. The trade group also urged the corporation to consider all of the possible reasons some consumer chose to be “unbanked.” Read on for more details.
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OCC: Underwriting trends similar to pre-financial crisis
Posted Date: Friday, December 11, 2015
For the third consecutive year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s examiners found that underwriting practices among national banks and federal savings associations have been eased. Senior Deputy Comptroller Jennifer C. Kelly stated that examiners are seeing “trends very similar to those that examiners reported just prior to the most recent financial crisis.” There may be a silver lining from the agency’s findings.
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MBA: Production profits up for year, despite quarterly decrease
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
The Mortgage Bankers Association released its latest Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report, finding that independent mortgage banks and subsidiaries of chartered banks had a net gain of $1,238 on each loan in the third quarter of 2015, down from a reported gain of $1,522 in the previous quarter. Despite the quarter-to-quarter decrease, Vice President of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh had more positive news to share.
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Committee targets FSOC transparency, expertise in hearing
Posted Date: Friday, December 11, 2015
Eight of the 10 voting members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council appeared before the House Financial Services Committee Dec. 8 to answer questions about its annual report. Several representatives voiced their concerns about the council’s lack of transparency, especially regarding the “systemically important financial institution” designations of MetLife, Inc. and Prudential Financial, Inc.
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Google launching mortgage comparison service
Posted Date: Monday, November 30, 2015
Google and Zillow have teamed up to pull Google into the mortgage industry. The popular search engine has announced that it is launching a new free service that will help consumers compare mortgage costs and allow potential homebuyers to search and compare mortgage offers. See how the service may be an asset to mortgage lenders here.
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FHFA seeks comments on GSE Duty-to-Serve provisions
Posted Date: Friday, December 18, 2015
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is seeking comments on a proposal for the Duty-to-Serve provisions of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to serve three specified underserved markets: manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation and rural markets.
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FDIC sees net income gains, growth in risk-taking
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2015
In its latest Quarterly Banking Profile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. stated that commercial banks and savings institutions reported an aggregate net income of $40.4 billion in the third quarter of 2015, up $1.9 billion (5.1 percent) from last year. Read on for an update on the corporation’s findings regarding loan growth, total loan and lease balances, the average net interest margin and what FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg thinks warrants attention.
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NCUA’s Q3 report shows strong loan growth, continued consolidation
Posted Date: Friday, December 11, 2015
The National Credit Union Administration has released its industry findings for the third quarter of 2015, reporting that the total loans at federally insured credit unions increased 3.3 percent from the previous quarter and 10.7 percent from a year earlier. The administration also provided findings on its membership, specific loan categories, net income, capitalization and long-term investments. Read on for more information.
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CFPB discusses supervisory appeals process
Posted Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a document detailing its appeals process for supervised entities that wish to appeal examinations or targeted reviews if they disagree with a less-than-satisfactory compliance rating, or with any underlying adverse findings of fact set forth in the relevant examination report or supervisory letter. Read on to find out what can and can’t be appealed, and how often appeals can be submitted.
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Survey examines industry’s top concerns regarding TRID
Posted Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
Genworth Mortgage Insurance, a unit of Genworth Financial, Inc., has released the results of an in-person survey it conducted of mortgage professionals at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference. Read on to learn more how job functions affected the top concerns.
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Marketing practices leads to $8 million penalty for CRA
Posted Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
Clarity Services, Inc. and its president and CEO, Timothy Ranney, will be required to pay $8 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Civil Penalty Fund after the agency filed a consent order finding that the credit reporting agency violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by using consumer reports for marketing purposes. Read on for more details.
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SEC touts whistleblower successes in annual report to Congress
Posted Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
The year 2015 was a banner year for the Securities and Exchange Commission and its Office of the Whistleblower, as the commission’s annual report to Congress noted an uptick in whistleblower claims and detailed the $37 million it awarded to claimants. Read on for more information on how the program fared this year, and what other initiatives the SEC focused on.
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MBA urges FHFA to shift risks away from GSEs
Posted Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
In a letter to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Melvin Watt, the Mortgage Bankers Association stated that it was “imperative” that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reduce their retained risk to avoid increases in taxpayers’ investment in the enterprises, adding that it was “critical” that the FHFA incorporate more explicit up-front risk sharing targets in the 2016 scorecards. Read on to learn more about the trade association’s recommendations.
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Agencies finalize rules on TILA, CLA exemptions; emergency lending
Posted Date: Friday, December 4, 2015
Within the final two weeks of November, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the thresholds for exempting loans from special appraisal requirements under the Truth in Lending Act and for exempting consumer credit and lease transactions under Regulations Z and M. Additionally, the Federal Reserve Board finalized its emergency lending procedures. Your regulators have been busy; read on to learn more.
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CFPB anticipates major milestones for payday, prepaid cards rulemaking
Posted Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its latest rulemaking agenda, detailing its plans for payday lending, prepaid cards, arbitration, debt collection and more. Read on to find out what the bureau has added to its agenda and its two long-term goals.
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CFPB addresses preauthorized electronic fund transfers in compliance bulletin
Posted Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a compliance bulletin on its expectations for when companies obtain preauthorized electronic fund transfers from consumers before automatically debiting consumers’ accounts. The bureau had found that despite companies’ providing notices of terms, some notices did not meet the requirements under the Electronic Fund Transfers Act, Regulation E and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act. Read on to learn how to avoid some simple mistakes.
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CFPB highlights bank account and service complaints
Posted Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a monthly consumer complaints snapshot Nov. 24, highlighting bank account and service complaints. The report shows many consumers are experiencing problems opening up and managing accounts, while other consumers found their accounts closed without explanation. Read on to learn more.
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CFTC issues preliminary report on ‘de minimus’ exception
Posted Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight and the Office of the Chief Economist issued a preliminary report on the swap dealer de minimis exception, as required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Read on to find out three reasons why Commissioner Christopher Giancarlo thinks the report is important.
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Auto dealers settle with FTC over deceptive advertisements
Posted Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
Two Ohio auto dealers were charged with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Consumer Leasing Act and Regulation M. According to the Federal Trade Commission, typical consumers could not qualify for the leasing terms that were being advertised. Keep reading to learn more.
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House passes bill designating all portfolio loans as QMs
Posted Date: Friday, November 27, 2015
The House passed the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act (H.R. 1210) on Nov. 18 with a 255-174 vote. The bill would amend the Truth in Lending Act to provide a safe harbor for residential mortgage loans held on an originating bank’s portfolio for the purposes of the Qualified Mortgage and Ability-to-Repay rules.
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