In November, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a compliance bulletin (CFPB Bulletin 2014-03) reminding lenders of their legal obligations when underwriting mortgage loans for Social Security disability recipients. The agency outlined steps that creditors can take to avoid illegal discrimination in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B.
Lenders in
On December 12, 2014, an Illinois federal judge found Dish Network LLC liable for participating in millions of unwanted telemarketing sales calls, where Dish Network could be subject to penalties exceeding $1 billion. Specifically, the District Court for the Central District of Illinois issued an opinion in United States of America v. Dish Network LLC
In the latest of a series of “whodunit” cases, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio held that a subscriber who did not answer a single call that allegedly violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act still had standing to sue under the statute. In Maraan v. Dish Network LLC (Civil Action
On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered a California mortgage lender to pay $730,000 for allegedly paying its loan originators compensation based on loan terms. The CFPB has asked the United States District Court for the Central District of California to approve a consent order requiring the company to end its allegedly illegal
At a recent hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Melvin Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, remarked that he did not see an immediate end to the federal government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2008, both government-sponsored enterprises were placed into conservatorship by the federal government
Today is the deadline when the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is scheduled to unveil its risk management guidance intended to curb financial and operational risks associated with loan servicing by nonbank entities.
The backdrop for FHFA’s initiative is the fact that the nation’s three largest nonbank mortgage servicers have tripled in size since 2012,
On November 19, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed dismissal of plaintiff borrowers’ claims against a foreclosure trustee and held that the trustee did not breach fiduciary duties by proceeding to foreclosure over borrowers’ objections.
The case centered on an oft-repeated scenario in which plaintiff borrowers were discussing a potential
On November 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed measures aimed at mortgage servicers. These proposed measures provide surviving family members and other homeowners with the same protections as the original borrowers. Additionally, the proposal seeks to add protections to homeowners and borrowers struggling to make payments under their mortgages. The new mortgage rules can
Earlier this month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a revision to its definition for FHA-insured Qualified Mortgages (QMs) that applies to Section 501(c)(3) nonprofits that originate and service mortgages. However, HUD decided it would not adopt the CFPB’s post-consummation QM limited cure mechanism, which we discussed here, for purposes of HUD’s
In October, the CFPB issued a final rule amending the 2013 mortgage rules that took effect in January 2014, including a post-consummation points and fees cure mechanism for qualified mortgage loans, which became effective on November 3, when it was published in the Federal Register.
These new amendments to the mortgage rules include: