Mortgage

In a keynote address to the Consumer Federation of America’s 2022 Consumer Assembly, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Zixta Martinez indicated the bureau is looking closely at “rent-a-bank” activities.

These activities involve lenders claiming partnership with banks as a means of subverting regulations placed on non-bank lenders.

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Mortgage interest rates saw the largest one-week increase in 35 years as they quickly approach 6 percent on 30-year fixed rates. This has led to a decline in mortgage applications and triggered layoffs and reassignments for mortgage workers at some of the nation’s largest lenders.

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A recent study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found that minority applicants often have higher costs in the mortgage market. The working paper asked the specific question “Did Minority Applicants Experience Worse Lending Outcomes in the Mortgage Market?”

It utilized information from the 2020 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act expanded data.

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Recent data from RE/Max found that closings in May 2022 were down from May of 2021 as inventory saw its second consecutive month of growth.

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The Department of Justice has continued its efforts to hold to account individuals and organizations that engaged in fraud relating to COVID-19 relief funds. This includes a man convicted of a $4.1 million fraud scheme, and a real estate developer who was indicted by grand jury in Oregon.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “GSEs”), have released new equitable housing finance plans for 2022-2024.

The plans are designed to complement FHFA strategic plan initiatives that promote safety and soundness and foster housing finance markets that provide equitable access to affordable and sustainable housing.

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The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development held hearing on the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) rural housing service (RHS).

Members of the subcommittee questioned the USDA undersecretary of rural development on RHS programs and housing issues facing rural Americans.

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Freddie Mac announced new automated underwriting capabilities designed to allow lenders to verify assets, income and employment using borrower-approved bank account data.

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A complaint filed in Chicago’s federal district court for the Northern District of Illinois alleges Wintrust Bank denied black applicants at a higher rate than white applicants; and, when black applicants were approved, it was at terms more burdensome than those for white applicants.

The lawsuit seeks certification to become a class action suit on behalf of all black applicants who were denied or subject to less favorable terms upon approval.

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a new Consumer Financial Protection Circular, and accompanying press release, addressing the usage of algorithms in making credit decisions.

The CFPB is attempting to make clear to financial institutions that relevant provisions of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act are still applicable when using such algorithms.

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