Dodd-Frank News Center

CFPB launches new tool to track mortgage delinquency rates nationwide

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Consumer Financial Protection bureau has launched a new Mortgage Performance Trends tool that tracks delinquency rates nationwide. According to the Bureau's release, information newly available through this tool shows that mortgage delinquency rates nationally are at their lowest point since the financial crisis. The CFPB said that in addition to national data, the online tool features interactive charts and graphs with data on mortgage delinquency rates for 50 states and the District of Columbia at the county and metro-area level.

CFPB requests operational funds from Fed

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

In a funding request letter to the Federal Reserve Board, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said that $217,100,000 would be necessary for the Bureau in the first quarter of fiscal year 2018. As required by law, each fiscal quarter the Fed transfers to the CFPB the amount of funds formally requested by the director. The Fed sent a letter to the CFPB's chief financial officer stating that the requested funds had been deposited into the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Fund at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.                                 

The Fed notified Cordray that the funds had been deposited on Oct. 19, 2017.

Senate votes to overturn CFPB arbitration rule

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

By a vote of 51 to 50, the Senate has approved a resolution (H.J. Res. 111) under the Congressional Review Act to nullify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration rule that prohibits mandatory, pre-dispute arbitration clauses in certain consumer financial contracts if those clauses prevent class actions. The House of Representatives previously voted to approve the resolution on July 25 by a vote of 231 to 190. The White House issued a statement saying President Donald Trump applauded Congress for passing the resolution.

Treasury report says CFPB's arbitration rule limits consumer choice, expands costly litigation

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

In conducting an analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's arbitration rule, particularly the prohibition against pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer financial contracts, the Treasury Department has issued a report concluding that the rule limits consumer choice and expands costly litigation. According to the report, the CFPB's underlying data for its arbitration study "were limited in ways that raise serious questions about its conclusions and undermine the foundation of the Rule itself."                                  

The Treasury report further asserts that the CFPB's study and rule "do not show that the Bureau's prohibition on arbitration will efficiently improve compliance with the federal consumer financial laws or serve public and consumer interests as the Dodd-Frank Act commands." As observed by Treasury in a release accompanying the report, the CFPB also "failed to consider less onerous alternatives to its ban on mandatory arbitration clauses across market sectors."

OCC seeks renewal of 'Liquidity Coverage Ratio' information collection

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is soliciting comment concerning the proposed renewal of an existing information collection entitled "Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements Associated with Liquidity Coverage Ratio: Liquidity Risk Measurement, Standards, and Monitoring." The OCC also is giving notice that it has sent the collection to the Office of Management and Budget for review.                                  

According to the OCC's notice, the collection is related to the quantitative liquidity requirement at 12 CFR part 50, which is designed to promote improvements in the measurement and management of liquidity risk. The rule applies to large and internationally active banking organizations and to their consolidated subsidiaries that are depository institutions with $10 billion or more in total consolidated assets.                                   

On July 19, 2017, the OCC issued a notice (see 2017 No. 2429) for 60 days of comment regarding this collection in 82 Federal Register 33202, but no comments were received. Written comments on the current notice should be submitted by Nov. 22, 2017.

CFPB releases financial data-sharing principles

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                   

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has outlined principles for protecting consumers when they authorize third-party companies to access their financial data to provide financial products and services. The non-binding Consumer Protection Principles relate to data access, data scope and usability, control of the data and informed consent, payment authorizations, data security, transparency on data access rights, data accuracy, accountability for access and use, and disputes and resolutions for unauthorized access.                                  

The CFPB also has provided a summary of feedback that it received in response to a November 2016 Request for Information to inquire into issues regarding the aggregation services market.

 

 

Cordray responds to Noreika's criticism of arbitration rule

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                  

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray has written an article for The Hill entitled "The truth about the arbitration rule is it protects American consumers." In the article, Cordray responds to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika's opposition to the Bureau's rule banning mandatory predispute arbitration clauses in specified consumer financial product and service contracts if those clauses prevent class actions.                                   

Cordray said Noreika had previously asserted that the Bureau's arbitration rule threatened the safety and soundness of the banking system, which Cordray described as "farfetched." Cordray then referred to a more recent claim by Noreika "that the rule will impose high costs, in the form of a 3.43 percent increase in credit card interest rates, on consumers," a claim Cordray said was "demonstrably bogus."                                  

The CFPB has also released a letter by Cordray to Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) responding to Brown's request for a Bureau analysis of an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency review about the effects of the arbitration rule. According to Cordray, "the Consumer Bureau's Office of Research analyzed the OCC review and found that it is based on flawed statistics and is contradicted by publicly available historical data that the OCC did not consider."                                  

In addition, the CFPB has released a brief blog post containing links to Cordray's article and letter, as well as an August op-ed in the New York Times.

CFPB releases 'Student Loan Ombudsman' report

This story appeared in Bank Digest.

                                  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released its "Annual Report of the CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman," which analyzes complaints submitted by consumers between Sept. 1, 2016, and Aug. 31, 2017. According to the Bureau, the report shows that complaints by student loan borrowers have driven actions that have produced more than $750 million in relief for student loan borrowers and strengthened the student loan repayment process. The CFPB said these changes include automatic student loan interest-rate reductions for eligible servicemembers, more protections around federal student loan repayment relief, and the elimination of surprise "auto defaults" from most new private student loan contracts.

 The CFPB also said the report shows that in the last year, the Bureau received more than 20,000 complaints from student loan borrowers, who report that widespread student loan servicing problems persist.

CFPB issues updated small entity compliance guide for TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued an updated small entity compliance guide for its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, which integrated the mortgage loan disclosures under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Reg. X) and the Truth in Lending Act (Reg. Z). The guide has been updated to reflect amendments issued on July 7, 2017, and published in the Federal Register on Aug. 11, 2017.                                   

The 2017 amendments were effective on Oct. 10, 2017, but compliance is generally only mandatory for transactions for which a creditor or mortgage broker receives an application on or after Oct. 1, 2018.

Treasury Department issues report on capital markets regulation

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                  

The Treasury Department has released a report, and accompanying factsheet, detailing how to streamline and reform the U.S. regulatory system for the capital markets. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said, "In this report, we examined the capital markets system to identify regulations that are standing in the way of economic growth and capital formation." He went on to say, "By streamlining the regulatory system, we can make the U.S. capital markets a true source of economic growth which will harness American ingenuity and allow small businesses to grow."                                  

This is the second report issued in response to Executive Order 13772, which President Donald Trump issued on Feb. 3, 2017, that calls on Treasury to identify laws and regulations that are inconsistent with a set of core principles of financial regulation.                                  

A press release issued by Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said the report included "recommendations to roll back capital markets, which would hurt investor protections." Brown said, "Instead of turning industry wish lists into reports, Treasury should focus on protecting working people from banks like Wells Fargo that abuse customers." Similarly, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif) said the report "is nothing less than a blueprint for dismantling strong reforms that Democrats put in place in the Dodd-Frank Wall