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Industry vet views regulatory trends through lender, title agent lenses
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
The multitude of demands on mortgage lenders does not leave
much time to ponder the challenges faced by their counterparts involved in
other aspects of the real estate transaction, or vice versa.
To get a different perspective on topics that cut across
multiple segments of the industry, Dodd Frank Update caught up with Fidelity
National Financial Senior Vice President, National Agency Division, Chuck Cain
at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual conference.
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Trades urge CFPB to revise, repropose data privacy rule
Posted Date: Friday, January 5, 2024
Industry advocates and regulators have signaled the need for major revisions to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s first proposed rulemaking tackling the topic of data privacy, as mandated under Sec. 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Specifically, they believe the bureau should go further in addressing issues such as liability allocation and screen-scraping.
A director from The Clearing House spoke to Dodd Frank Update in an exclusive interview about some of the recommended changes to the proposed rule.
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FDIC rule protects brand integrity against bad actors
Posted Date: Friday, January 5, 2024
In a move aimed at protecting the agency’s branding from bad actors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) adopted a final rule clarifying regulations concerning false advertising, misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage and misuse of the FDIC’s name and official logo. The rule also addresses potential confusion among consumers over financial products offered by banks versus nonbanks.
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Community banks express support for long-term debt proposal
Posted Date: Friday, January 5, 2024
As the comment deadline for the proposed long-term debt regulations on the nation’s largest banks nears, trade advocates representing community bankers have expressed support for the measure proposed by the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
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Regulators clarify new BOI ‘access rule’ provisions
Posted Date: Friday, January 5, 2024
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network recently announced a final rule outlining revised provisions for accessing beneficial ownership information under section 6403 of the Corporate Transparency Act. Multiple regulators issued a joint statement clarifying key elements of the new “access rule.”
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FSOC annual report examines threats, opportunities facing financial markets
Posted Date: Friday, January 5, 2024
The Financial Stability Oversight Council was unanimous in approving its 2023 annual report to Congress, reviewing the council’s take on U.S. financial market developments, potential emerging threats to financial stability and vulnerabilities in the financial system, as well as recommendations for mitigating such threats and vulnerabilities.
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CFPB, OCC fine U.S. Bank $36M over frozen accounts during pandemic
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Tens of thousands of consumers who were frozen out of their prepaid U.S. Bank accounts during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic may be entitled to compensation thanks to a pair of enforcement actions totaling $36 million in penalties and redress. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ordered the nation’s fifth-largest bank to pay nearly $21 million and $15 million, respectively.
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Ransomware attack underscores NCUA warnings about cyber risks
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Sixty. That is the approximate number of credit unions that experienced “some level of outage” due to a single ransomware attack on a third-party provider earlier this month, according to the National Credit Union Administration. The incident is a reminder of the importance of heeding warnings about cyber risks and taking appropriate safeguarding measures.
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Congress takes second step toward eliminating ‘trigger lists’
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Congress took another key step toward eliminating “trigger lists” utilized by credit reporting agencies with the recent introduction of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act (S. 3502). This is the second piece of bipartisan legislation introduced this year to restrict these agencies from selling information about consumers’ credit activity and contact details to lenders and other creditors.
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Rectifying UDAAP Act proposes to clarify CFPB’s ‘abusive’ authority
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Legislation seeking to clarify and restrict the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to cite certain acts and practices as “abusive” in enforcement actions is gaining popularity among financial industry advocates.
The bill’s name plays on the “UDAAP” acronym – the Rectifying Undefined Descriptions of Abusive Acts and Practices Act, aka the Rectifying UDAAP Act.
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Regulatory Roundup: CFPB releases Unified Agenda for Fall 2023 rulemaking activity
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released its updated Unified Agenda submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, which provides a glimpse of the bureau’s various rulemaking initiatives. Get a brief overview of some rulemaking activities that have gained attention in the industry and/or may become more prevalent in the near future.
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Bipartisan bill aims to close ‘shadow banking loophole’
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 19, 2023
A bipartisan group of senators reintroduced legislation to compel companies that operate industrial loan companies to adhere to the same rules and consumer protection regulations as traditional banks to reduce the prevalence of “shadow banking” practices, which can pose risks to consumers and to the financial system.
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Wells Fargo responds to CFPB notice for possible pricing discrimination
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
In a statement to Dodd Frank Update, Wells Fargo defended its record as a supporter of underserved, majority-minority communities amid reports of possible pricing discrimination in its mortgage lending practices. The bank has been linked to an industrywide Consumer Financial Protection Bureau probe into possible fair lending violations.
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FDIC cites bank for reg violations related to third-party offerings
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
Partnerships between traditional financial institutions and
fintechs to offer customers innovative products and solutions are more
commonplace than ever, but the industry is still learning the potential
regulatory pitfalls that can arise in these types of third-party relationships.
One such partnership between First Northwest Bancorp and a
fintech resulted in an enforcement action with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.,
requiring the Port Angeles, Wash.- based bank to undertake a comprehensive
overhaul of its compliance management program.
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CDFI Fund announces application updates, $462 million in award plans
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
The Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund recently unveiled its updated certification application, integrating significant modifications advocated by industry leaders. The organization also announced its plans for $462 million in awards eligible for certified CDFIs in fiscal year 2024.
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Trade Group Takeaways: CBA challenges CFPB on CARD Act data
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
The mortgage
marketplace is a vast and ever-changing sector of the nation’s economy, which
encompasses banks and credit unions of all sizes, as well as
government-sponsored enterprises and a growing number of fintech companies.
Take a look
at a handful of topics and news items recently touched upon by various trade
organizations active within the mortgage space.
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Fannie Mae highlights updates to December Selling Guide
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
Fannie Mae
recently unveiled a series of updates to its December Selling Guide with
the intent to streamline lending processes, modernize requirements governing
allowable methods for making credit determinations and bolster
transparency.
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Fed keeps rates steady, projects cuts in 2024
Posted Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
The federal funds rate once again will not budge following the final
meeting of the year for the Federal Open Market Committee. The committee also indicated
cuts could be forthcoming in 2024 and 2025 as it continues to strive toward the
eventual target rate of 2 percent.
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CFPB cites Atlantic Union Bank for ‘deceptive’ overdraft practices
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
The
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued an enforcement action
against Atlantic Union Bank, ordering the company to pay $6.2 million to settle
accusations of “overdraft fee harvesting.” The bank did so by allegedly enrolling
thousands of customers into checking account overdraft programs without their affirmative
consent.
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Fed terminates Kentucky bank’s enforcement action
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
The
Federal Reserve agreed to terminate an enforcement action against a
Kentucky-based bank holding company and its subsidiary, finding the parties had
remediated previously cited deficiencies related to lending and credit
administration and with corporate leadership, among other issues.
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Regulatory Roundup: OCC announces multiple lender enforcement actions
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
In November, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
(OCC) released details about multiple enforcement actions citing “unsafe and
unsound” practices against national banks and federal savings associations, as
well as individuals currently and formerly affiliated with these types of
entities.
The types of practices cited in the OCC’s latest round of
enforcement actions announced by the OCC are described in Title I of the Dodd-Frank
Act.
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GAO releases CFPB audit report findings
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its
audit of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s financial statements for
2022 and 2023.
According to the GAO, the agency spent $2.75 billion this
year to enhance citizens’ financial education and ensure banks, lenders, and
other financial companies under its supervision comply with consumer protection
laws.
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Senators call for FDIC director to resign over toxic workplace allegations
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 12, 2023
A
group of Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee is calling for
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chair Martin Gruenberg to resign, citing
reported allegations of harassment and inappropriate conduct within the agency,
contributing to a toxic workplace culture.
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MLOs sue Bank of America for unpaid overtime, FLSA violations
Posted Date: Friday, December 8, 2023
A
group of mortgage loan officers filed suit against Bank of America, alleging
the bank failed to appropriately compensate employees who routinely worked more
than 60 hours per week. The plaintiffs assert the bank avoided paying overtime
to commission-based employees by systematically misclassifying them as exempt under
the Fair Labor Standards Act.
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Bank CEOs argue against Basel III Endgame proposal in Senate hearing
Posted Date: Friday, December 8, 2023
Executives
representing the country’s largest banks testified before the Senate Banking
Committee that while their companies are capable of meeting increased capital standards
described in the Basel III Endgame proposed rule, doing so could have negative
effects on credit access and competition in the mortgage marketplace, as well
as in the economy in general.
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FinCEN extends BOI deadline for new filers in 2024
Posted Date: Friday, December 8, 2023
Companies
created or registered in 2024 will have extra time to file initial beneficial
ownership information reports under a new rule finalized by the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network. Reporting companies will have 90 calendar days from
the date they receive actual or public notice of their creation or registration,
according to an agency press release.
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NCUA reinstates penalties for late call report filing
Posted Date: Friday, December 8, 2023
The
National Credit Union Administration recently announced it will reinstate civil
money penalties for credit unions that fail to submit timely call reports,
effective Jan. 1, 2024.
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CFPB report highlights UDAAP violations in medical debt collection
Posted Date: Friday, December 8, 2023
The
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its annual report to Congress on
the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, focusing on challenges faced by
American families dealing with medical debt collectors. The report cites 8,500
complaints in 2022 from servicemembers, older adults and other consumers
regarding medical debt collections.
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Congress votes to repeal Sec. 1071 rule; Biden vows veto
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
The fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule mandating certain data collection and reporting requirements outlined in Sec. 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act now rests with the White House. Following Congress’s vote approving a resolution to repeal the rule, President Joe Biden reiterated his intention to veto the resolution.
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CFPB approves trial disclosure template for construction loans
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
With its recent approval of a
trial construction loan disclosure template, the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB) took the first step for the bureau’s Trial Disclosure Program toward
establishing distinct requirements for construction loans, as opposed to other
real estate loan types.
Through ongoing testing
efforts, the bureau hopes the program will help to identify and define
parameters to guide compliance personnel when interpreting and applying the
CFPB’s TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) rule, also known as “Know
Before You Owe” requirements, to construction loan originations.
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Fed approves NB Bancorp merger application
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
The Federal Reserve recently announced its approval of NB
Bancorp, Inc.’s application to become a bank holding company by absorbing NB
Financial, Inc., and thereby also acquiring Needham Bank of Needham, Mass.
In a conversion plan released in June, NB Bancorp explained
the business purpose for converting into a bank holding company.
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FDIC-insured banks earned $68.4 billion in third quarter
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Financial
institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported $68.4
billion in aggregate net income in the third quarter. This total represents a
3.4 percent decline compared with second-quarter earnings reported by the
country’s 4,614 FDIC-insured commercial banks and savings institutions.
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Fed votes to keep rates unchanged once again
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
The
Federal Reserve once again voted to maintain the federal interest rate between
5-1/4 percent and 5-1/2 percent during the November meeting of the Federal Open
Market Committee (FOMC). There will be one more FOMC meeting before the end of
the year.
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Chopra testifies on CFPB actions affecting household debt, credit access
Posted Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
During
his semiannual report to Congress, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director
Rohit Chopra addressed challenges facing the residential mortgage marketplace
and what measures the bureau is taking to help consumers, whose greatest
obstacle to entering that marketplace is debt.
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