Holly Spencer Bunting

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On January 15, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took three coordinated actions related to home equity contracts or investment transactions. Although none of the CFPB’s actions are binding, and may not reflect the new administration’s views, the CFPB seeks to educate consumers and hints at ways that regulators could address those those transactions moving…

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is giving no-action letters a second chance. On January 8, 2025, the CFPB issued a policy statement setting forth new procedures for companies to request supervisory and enforcement relief through no-action letters. The policy statement was issued at the same time as a related policy statement setting forth procedures…

Maryland regulations governing “shared appreciation agreements” become effective November 25, 2024.  After the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation proposed regulations governing required disclosures for shared appreciation agreements in July 2024, the regulations were finalized on October 30, 2024, with no substantive revisions.

As a reminder, a “shared appreciation agreement” is defined for purposes of Maryland’s Credit Grantor mortgage laws as “a writing evidencing a transaction or any option, future, or any other derivative between a person and a consumer where the consumer receives money or any other item of value in exchange for an interest or future interest in a dwelling or residential real estate, or a future obligation to repay a sum on the occurrence of an event such as: (1) the transfer of ownership; (2) a repayment maturity date; (3) the death of the consumer; or (4) any other event contemplated by the writing.”

Below is a summary of the final regulations governing shared appreciation agreements. Continue Reading New Disclosure and Other Requirements for Shared Appreciation Agreements Take Effect in Maryland

FHA branch offices could become a thing of the past.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development published a final rule on February 2, 2024, eliminating the requirement for lenders to register each branch office where lenders and mortgagees conduct FHA business with HUD. FHA addressed questions from stakeholders in Frequently Asked Questions.

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It has been more than five years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has issued a consent order based on alleged violations of Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”).  On August 17, 2023, the CFPB announced a consent order with a non-bank mortgage lender and a consent order with a real estate brokerage company—totaling nearly $2 million in combined penalties—based on allegations that the mortgage company provided things of value and the real estate brokerage company received things of value in violation of Section 8 of RESPA.  Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the activities at issue in the consent orders are promotional events and marketing services agreements, two arrangements about which the CFPB provided guidance in its Frequently Asked Questions in October 2020. Continue Reading RESPA Enforcement is Back! The CFPB Takes Aim at Marketing and Promotional Activities

Lead generation and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”) compliance remain hot topics following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) February 2023 advisory opinion regarding digital comparison shopping platforms.  In its March 2023 issue of Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) discusses certain examination observations and regulatory developments, including those related to FDIC-insured banks’ payments for leads under Section 8 of RESPA.  The Highlights indicate that, while fact specific, indicators of risk under RESPA in connection with lead generation arrangements include third parties that do one or more of the following activities:Continue Reading The FDIC’s Observations on Lead Generation and RESPA Compliance

Can online lead generation be done compliantly under Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act? The answer is yes, but it is important to navigate the impermissible activities recently identified by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. On February 7, 2023, the CFPB issued long-awaited guidance in an advisory opinion addressing how it interprets…

High rates and a steep reduction in mortgage refinance applications have created stiff competition for the origination of purchase-money mortgages. Settlement service providers often seek creative strategic alliances to help secure more business. Companies can refer to recent informal guidance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau relating to marketing services agreements and other promotional opportunities.

On September 7, 2021, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a consent order with an education finance nonprofit (“nonprofit”) in connection with the nonprofit’s offering of income share agreements (“ISAs”). In the consent order, the CFPB asserted that ISAs are extensions of credit covered by the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) as well as TILA’s requirements with respect to “private education loans.” Because the CFPB asserts in the consent order that it views the nonprofit’s ISAs as credit, the CFPB takes the position that they are also subject to numerous other federal consumer financial protection laws that impose requirements and restrictions on student loan products. This consent order has significant implications for those in the ISA market, as it indicates how the CFPB views re-characterization for ISAs and similar products.
Continue Reading CFPB Finds that Income Share Agreements are Credit Products

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act is ambiguous, and compliance often turns on the facts of arrangements. For that reason, settlement service providers have been asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for guidance since it took responsibility for RESPA nearly 10 years ago. These calls were amplified when Section 8 of RESPA was an early…