Federal Mortgage Regulations

  • CFPB Issues Lender Guidance on Disability Income Discrimination

    by Anna DeSimone, President November 18, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin to help lenders avoid imposing illegal burdens on consumers receiving disability income who apply for mortgages. The CFPB is reminding lenders that requiring unnecessary documentation from consumers who receive Social Security disability income may raise fair lending risk.  The […]

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  • CFPB Finalizes Minor Changes to Mortgage Rules to Ensure Access to Credit

    By Anna DeSimone, President Changes Will Assist Nonprofits and Allow for Refunds of Excess Points and Fees for Qualified Mortgages October 22, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today finalized minor adjustments to its mortgage rules to ensure access to credit. The adjustments, which were proposed in April, include two changes that will help […]

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  • Banking Agencies Issue Final QRM Risk Retention Final Rule

     By Anna DeSimone, PresidentOctober 21, 2014, the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a final rule implementing the credit risk retention requirements of Section 15G of the […]

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  • CFPB Finalizes Rule to Promote More Effective Privacy Disclosures

    By Anna DeSimone, PresidentOctober 20, 2014 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule to promote more effective privacy disclosures from financial institutions to their customers. The new rule, which was proposed in May, allows companies that limit their consumer data-sharing and meet other requirements to post their annual privacy notices online rather than […]

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  • CFPB Proposes Updates to HMDA Reporting

    by: Anna DeSimone Bureau Aims to Simplify the Reporting Process for Financial Institutions July 24, 2014 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule to improve information reported about the residential mortgage market. The rule would shed more light on consumers’ access to mortgage credit by updating the reporting requirements of the Home Mortgage […]

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  • Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Publishes SAR Statistics

    by: Anna DeSimone The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) has published the first issue of SAR Stats, the successor publication to The SAR Activity Review: By the Numbers. This issue examines only data contained on the 1,369,529 unique FinCEN SARs (Form 111) with filing dates between March 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013. The adoption of the new unified SAR form and […]

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  • CFPB Issues Guidance Regarding Brokers Shifting to “Mini-Correspondent” Model Bureau Describes Evaluation of Mini-Correspondent Transactions

    by: Anna DeSimone July 11, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance regarding mortgage brokers transitioning to a “mini-correspondent” lender model. The full content of the CFPB Press Release is provided: The CFPB is concerned that some mortgage brokers may be shifting to the mini-correspondent model under the mistaken belief that identifying themselves […]

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  • Obama Administration Releases June Housing Scorecard

    by: Anna DeSimone July 10, 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the June edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard, a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators, including growing equity and a rebound in the sale […]

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  • FHLB Clarifies VA Mortgage QM Rules for MPF Program

    by: Anna DeSimone June 16, 2014 the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLB) published PFI Advisory 06-16-14, Department of Veterans Affairs Safe Harbor Qualified Mortgages. The purpose of the Advisory was to reiterate and clarify the criteria for VA Mortgages sold under the MPF Program. Each VA Mortgage closed on or after 5/9/14, the effective date of […]

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  • CFPB Proposes Rule to Promote More Effective Privacy Disclosures

    by: Anna DeSimoneMay 6, 2014 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule to promote more effective privacy disclosures from financial institutions to their customers. The rule would allow companies that limit their consumer data-sharing and meet other requirements to post their annual privacy notices online rather than delivering them individually.  The rule would […]

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