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TRID arrives, but is everyone ready to go?
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2015
It seems like we’ve been waiting for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules for a while, but despite the nearly two-year ramp up to the effective date, not everyone seems to be at the same level of preparations for the changes. Melissa Kozicki, the director of compliance for the Mortgage Builder division of Altisource, which also owns Lenders One, spoke with Dodd Frank Update.
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CFPB tells debt collection industry to pay attention to order
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2015
A recent enforcement action by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) against two debt buyers was not simply a slap on the wrists for the company. CFPB Director Richard Cordray specifically told the industry to study the consent orders signed with each company for insight on how the bureau plans to create regulations for debt collections. Read on to find out the lessons you need to know.
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When one regulator enforces another agency’s regulation
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2015
For the second time in the span of a month, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) has handed down an enforcement action to one of its institutions. But rather than enforcing one of its own statutes, the FDIC handed down a penalty for violation of a Federal Trade Commission statute. How can one regulator enforce another agency’s statute? Read on for all the details.
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FDIC reminds institutions of MLA rule
Posted Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
Changes to the Military Lending Act will take effect beginning Oct. 3, 2016, after the Department of Defense finalized the rule. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a letter to its institutions reminding them of the changes to prepare for over the next year to remain in compliance. Read on for the details.
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FFIEC proposes Call Report reductions for community banks
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Saying that it was responding to early feedback received during the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 regulatory review, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) said it was proposing changes to reduce reporting burdens for community banks in their quarterly Call Reports.
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NCUA bows to pressure to make funding processes more transparent
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Should the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an independent federal agency created by Congress to regulate, charter and supervise federal credit unions, seek public comment on its funding policies? The agency seems to be voluntarily heading in that direction, just a few weeks after telling a credit union association that it considers such information privileged and confidential. Why did the agency suddenly have a change of heart?
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Making eClosing a reality today in auto lending
Posted Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a report last month on its “Know Before You Owe” eClosing pilot project, which solidified its hunch that borrowers can benefit from electronic closings when navigating the mortgage closing process, the bureau received a virtual high-five from an unlikely source: Ace Christian, chief vision officer for SecureClose, an automated loan closing process for buy-here-pay-here auto dealers. That’s because for Christian, eClosings are “been there, done that.” Read on as he shares his experience of developing an eClosing system for his industry, and how he feels the mortgage industry stands to benefit from following his lead.
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Dodd-Frank’s consequences: Credit unions suffer, online lenders prosper, says NAFCU
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2015
While credit unions are struggling under intense regulatory burdens, online lenders, which are not required to follow the same disclosure practices and underwriting standards of traditional lenders, are able to get up and running more quickly and enjoy fewer compliance costs and challenges — much to the detriment of consumer education and credit needs, said the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) in a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department. Find out what other grievances the association shared with the department.
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Sallie Mae spinoff could face CFPB penalty
Posted Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
A student loan servicing company that spun off from Sallie Mae said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may be facing an enforcement action from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Read on to see what the company warned shareholders of, and how far back the CFPB investigation could go.
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Five regs to help banks avoid repeating sins of financial crisis
Posted Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
Banks should learn from the mistakes they made during the last financial crisis and mitigate the risks associated with the securities they buy by applying federal regulations and other guidance to their investment management standards and capital requirements, advises the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in its latest Supervisory Insights report. Read on for five regulations and guidance the FDIC recommends that all banks follow to determine they have a reasonable assurance of receiving scheduled payments of principal and interest.
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Agencies release reports on National Mortgage Database
Posted Date: Friday, September 18, 2015
The Federal Housing Finance Agency and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released two technical reports regarding their National Mortgage Database – the first comprehensive repository of detailed mortgage loan information that is supposed to help regulators with future policymaking. But will the data also be used for potential supervision and enforcement? Read on for the details.
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CFTC proposes changes to ‘material terms’ in swap portfolio reconciliation
Posted Date: Friday, September 18, 2015
Looking to scale back some regulatory burden on swap portfolio reconciliation, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is proposing rules that would amend the definition of “material terms” to specifically exclude certain data fields in that reconciliation. Read on to find out why the agency is proposing to scale back previously approved regulations.
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House Dems apply their own Section 1071 rulemaking pressure
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Joining their colleagues in the Senate, more than 80 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, urging the bureau to expedite its rulemaking process for Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. That section amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to report information concerning credit applications made by women- or minority-owned businesses and small businesses.
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Fed study: Durbin Amendment’s impact on debit card merchants is a mixed bag
Posted Date: Monday, September 21, 2015
How has the Durbin Amendment, which passed as part of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, affected merchants who accept debit cards for financial transactions? According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the regulation has had a mixed impact on the costs of accepting debit cards, the retail price of goods and services and restrictions on debit card use. Read on for details of the Fed’s findings.
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CFPB receives injunction against World Law Group
Posted Date: Friday, September 18, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau obtained a preliminary injunction against World Law Group and its senior leaders from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Sept. 15. The bureau had alleged that the defendants violated the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition against “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices” and the Telemarketing Sales Rule through their marketing and sale of debt-relief services.
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FTC provides ‘open-ended’ Section 5 authority framework
Posted Date: Friday, September 18, 2015
What constitutes an unfair or deceptive act or practice subject to enforcement under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act? In hopes of providing clarity, the commission released a statement of enforcement principles for Section 5 that, it says, draws on precedent to unite Section 5 with the Sherman and Clayton Acts. One dissenter, though, said the statement “provides more questions than answers, undermining its value as guidance.” Read on to see what the commission says it can do under Section 5.
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NCUA names chief economist
Posted Date: Friday, September 18, 2015
The National Credit Union Administration has named its new chief economist. The Office of the Chief Economist develops and distributes economic intelligence and produces modeling and risk identification tools for the administration. Read on to find out who will take over for former chief economist, John Worth, who left the position in August.
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CFTC finalizes rule requiring association membership
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Finalizing a rule it first proposed in the fall of 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will require that all introducing brokers, commodity pool operators or commodity trading advisors who are registered with the CFTC be a member of at least one registered futures association. Read on for the details of the rule, what choice the registered participants will have in association membership, and why exemptions were given for some commodity trading advisors.
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FHA handbook takes effect
Posted Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Three months after it originally was scheduled to take effect, the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Single Family Housing Policy Handbook is now in use for FHA mortgages originated after Sept. 14. Read on for details of what parts of the handbook are in effect and how the streamlined rules are expected to affect the mortgage market.
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Industry takes TRID guidance request to FFIEC
Posted Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
With less than a month until the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule take effect, industry participants are increasing their efforts to gain more clarity and protection from enforcement after Oct. 3. Associations wrote the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council for guidance, while the grassroots advocacy arm of the Mortgage Bankers Association issued a Call to Action to members to contact Congressmen in support of hold-harmless bills currently active in both chambers. Read on for the details.
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NCUA touts membership spike in Q2
Posted Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
More than 101 million Americans joined credit unions during the second quarter, exceeding the membership pace set during the same period last year by 3 million members, the National Credit Union Administration said in its Q2 earnings report last week. The association reported growth in many other areas, as well.
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FDIC: Banks post record quarterly income
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
The latest quarterly report on the banking industry by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shows that institutions report record income, with problem banks at a seven-year low and the Deposit Insurance Fund reserve ratio doubling since last year. And yet there remain challenges, the FDIC chairman said. Read on to find out why he said all is not sunshine and roses for the banking industry.
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NCUA issued two enforcement orders in August
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
The National Credit Union Administration issued two enforcement orders in August, prohibiting two individuals from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution. Read on to learn more about the administration’s authority under the Federal Credit Union Act.
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Survey: Mobile banking use steady
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2015
A new survey by the American Bankers Association finds consumers using mobile banking services at about the same rate as they were a year ago. Read on to find out how often Americans are conducting banking business on their mobile devices.
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Credit union liable in member withdrawal, court finds
Posted Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted an American Airlines Federal Credit Union member’s motion for summary judgment against the union for alleged violations of the Truth in Lending Act and the anti-offset provisions of the Massachusetts Consumer Credit Cost Disclosure Act. The union had withdrawn deposits to pay for a past-due credit bill.
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California court shoots down C&C’s motions to dismiss
Posted Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
In its second legal tussle over a loan officer bonus program that allegedly steered consumers into costlier mortgages, an embattled mortgage lender took a stab at two of the claims asserted in a class-action lawsuit, but fell short. Could Castle &Cooke Mortgage be headed to a similar outcome as its $13.2 million settlement in 2013 with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over the same allegations? Read on for the latest events in this ongoing litigation.
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What will homeownership look like in 2024?
Posted Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
According to a recent Mortgage Bankers Association research report, homeownership may look very different because of household formation changes among baby boomers, Generation X and millennials. Read on to find out how these changes may impact homeownership rates in the next decade.
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Credit reporting takes spotlight from CFPB complaints
Posted Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its second monthly consumer complaints snapshot Aug. 25, highlighting credit reporting complaints and trends seen in complaints from the Los Angeles metro area. Read on to find out what the majority of credit reporting complaints involved.
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CFTC proposes changes to swaps reporting rules
Posted Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
Four years after implementing Dodd-Frank Act mandates regarding the reporting of data on the swaps market, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is proposing changes to those rules. The proposals, which now are open for comment, are expected to provide clarity to swap counterparties and registered entities regarding reporting obligations for cleared swaps and improve the efficiency of data collection. Read on for the details of the proposals.
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OCC workshops cover both coasts
Posted Date: Friday, August 28, 2015
At the end of September, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will host workshops for directors of community banks and federal savings associations. One set of workshops will be in New York, with the other set for Albuquerque, N.M. Read on to find out what the agency plans to teach bank directors.
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Firms cited for deception in pension advance loan plans
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Three companies were cited by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the New York Department of Financial Services for offering pension advances which were loans with the “effective interest rate greater than those typically available for other products to which defendants drew comparisons.” The agencies asserted that defendants took advantage of consumers’ lack of understanding of their pension advance and potential alternatives. Read on to find out the ways the agencies were tipped off, and how you can avoid the companies’ mistakes when promoting consumer loans.
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Loan provider hit with $700,000 for improper supervision
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Springstone Financial, LLC violated the Dodd-Frank Act’s prohibition against “unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices” (UDAAP) for not properly training and monitoring dental-service providers that offered its loan products to patients. Consumers were not properly informed about the interest rate terms on certain deferred-interest loan products.
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Appellate court rules FTC can enforce cybersecurity
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a ruling stemming from a 2012 lawsuit that will allow the Federal Trade Commission to pursue enforcement over claims concerning cybersecurity. See what started the dispute and why the appellate court ruled in favor of the agency.
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FHA unveils new program to help underserved mortgage borrowers
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015
The Federal Housing Administration announced that it will implement a new part of its “Blueprint for Access,” a program designed to expand credit access to underserved borrowers. Read on for more details of the program, including how the administration hopes the program will assist both lenders and borrowers alike.
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FHFA adopts final rule on Fannie, Freddie housing goals
Posted Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2015
The Federal Housing Finance Agency adopted a final rule establishing single-family and multifamily housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 2015 to 2017. The goals include separate categories for single-family and multifamily mortgages on housing that is affordable to low-income and very low-income families, among other categories. Read on for more details.
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