Members of Mayer Brown’s Financial Services team summarize the main takeaways of the CFPB’s proposal to amend the Regulation X mortgage servicing rules, focusing on the proposal to amend the requirements for mortgage servicers to assist borrowers in default who seek payment assistance, the proposed amendments to foreclosure safeguards during that process, and the CFPB’s
CFPB
CFPB Credit Card Late Fee Rule Stayed . . . For Now
On May 10, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted the credit card industry at least a temporary reprieve from a CFPB rulemaking that would have restricted late fees on consumer credit cards significantly (as described in more detail in our prior Legal Update).Continue Reading CFPB Credit Card Late Fee Rule Stayed . . . For Now
Consumer Financial Services: UDAAP Round-Up
Mayer Brown is pleased to provide the latest edition of its UDAAP Round-Up. This newsletter is designed to provide readers with a periodic resource to stay abreast of federal activities regarding the prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices in the consumer financial services space. In this edition, we cover notable policy…
CFPB Initiates Fair Credit Reporting Act Rulemaking Focusing on Data Brokers
On September 25, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began its most substantial Fair Credit Reporting Act rulemaking yet with an outline of proposed changes to Regulation V, which implements FCRA, ahead of the Bureau’s Small Business Advisory Review Panel. The proposals under consideration could have a substantial impact on the data brokerage industry, if…
CFPB “Unfairness Discrimination” Struck Down
On September 8, 2023, a federal court struck down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) attempts to supervise institutions for so-called “unfairness discrimination.” The CFPB had previously announced the view that the statutory prohibition on unfairness encompasses a broad-based prohibition on discrimination in an update to its examination manual in March 2022, eliciting substantial objections…
RESPA Enforcement is Back! The CFPB Takes Aim at Marketing and Promotional Activities
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
CFPB Announces Plans to Streamline Mortgage Servicing Rules
Last Thursday, the CFPB announced in a blog post that it is considering revising its mortgage servicing rules. This development follows a request for information from the CFPB last fall seeking public input on, among other things, streamlined loss mitigation options. The CFPB’s current mortgage servicing rules were promulgated in the wake of the foreclosure crisis and took effect in 2014. Among other things, the rules create a framework for default servicing under which servicers must evaluate loss mitigation applications according to a prescribed process with deadlines and notice requirements. The COVID-19 pandemic put this loss mitigation framework to the test as the number of borrowers who had trouble paying their mortgages skyrocketed.Continue Reading CFPB Announces Plans to Streamline Mortgage Servicing Rules
UDAAP Round-Up
Please check out the latest edition of our UDAAP Round-Up — a periodic review of federal activities regarding the prohibition on unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (“UDAAPs”) in the consumer financial services space. In this edition, we cover notable policy, enforcement, and supervisory developments from October 2022 through March 2023
The FDIC’s Observations on Lead Generation and RESPA Compliance
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
The CFPB Sticks to Its Guns, Finding State Commercial Finance Disclosure Laws Not Preempted in Final Determination
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finalized its December 2022 preliminary determination that commercial finance disclosure laws recently enacted in California, New York, Utah and Virginia are not preempted by the federal Truth in Lending Act. The CFPB’s final determination confirms for a wide range of small business financers and brokers that they are…