Dodd-Frank News Center

CFPB updates mortgage servicing rules small entity compliance guide

This story appeared in Bank Digest.   

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has updated its "Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) Mortgage Servicing Rules" small entity compliance guide. The updated guide provides a summary of the mortgage servicing rules in effect as of April 19, 2018.                                   

The updates to the guide include information on the single-statement exemption for periodic statements or coupon books when servicers transition to providing modified or unmodified periodic statements and coupon books in connection with a consumer's bankruptcy case. The Bureau has also created a coverage chart of mortgage servicing provisions under Reg. X and Reg. Z.

 

CFPB issues RFI on inherited regulations and rulemaking authorities

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                     

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a Request for Information on the Bureau's inherited regulations and inherited rulemaking authorities to assist the Bureau in considering whether it should amend the regulations or exercise the rulemaking authorities that it inherited from other federal government agencies. The CFPB's release said this is the ninth in a series of RFIs announced as part of Acting Director Mick Mulvaney's call for evidence to ensure the Bureau is fulfilling its proper and appropriate functions to best protect consumers.                                  

The CFPB will accept comments for 90 days once the RFI is published in the Federal Register, which is expected to occur on March 26, 2018. The comment due date would then be June 25, 2018.

 

CFPB accepting applications for advisory board and council appointments

This story appeared in Bank Digest.         

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now accepting applications for appointment to the Bureau's Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, and Credit Union Advisory Council. According to a Bureau blog post, the board and councils "provide us with information about emerging trends and practices in the consumer financial marketplace" and "allow us to hear directly from small financial institutions." 

The post explains what kind of people the CFPB is looking for to serve on the CAB and the advisory councils, and it gives instructions on how to apply. The post also includes links to information on these advisory groups and to the application forms, and it states how many seats will be available on each group in the fall of 2018. 

House passes TAILOR Act

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                     

The House of Representatives has passed the Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk (TAILOR) Act of 2017 (H.R. 1116) by a vote of 247 to 169. According to a House Financial Services Committee press release, the bill "moves financial regulatory agencies away from the current one-size-fits-all approach to instead consider additional factors such as an institution's risk profile, unintended potential impact of implementation of such regulations, and underlying policy objectives of the statutory scheme which led to the regulation." Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said, "At a bare minimum, let's tailor the rules and regulations to the size and complexity of the institution so our credit unions, so our banks can thrive and thus our constituents can thrive and meet their economic goals and responsibilities." 

But in a prepared floor statement, Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif) said the bill "would weaken important safeguards established since the financial crisis" and "would provide all financial institutions, including the largest banks, with opportunities to challenge any and every regulation in court if they felt it was not 'uniquely tailored' to their business needs."

Senate passes Dodd-Frank reform bill

This story appeared in Bank Digest.   

The Senate has passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155), which would modify provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and related laws governing financial services, by a vote of 67 to 31. In prepared remarks made on the Senate floor, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said S. 2155 "weakens stress tests for all large banks" and "opens the door to weaker oversight of foreign megabanks operating in the U.S.," among other problems he saw with the bill. In a separate statement released after the bill was passed, he said that in passing the bill, the Senate had "rolled back accountability measures for some of the biggest domestic and foreign banks at the expense of taxpayers." 

Similarly, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif) issued a statement saying the bill "takes our financial system in the wrong direction, and serves as a giveaway to banks that are already posting record profits." And House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) said the Senate had taken "a giant leap backward towards the freewheeling days of the financial crisis." 

But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin issued a statement saying the Senate had taken "an important step today toward achieving common sense financial regulation" and that the bill would "safeguard American consumers through proper and effective oversight."

Senate debates ‘regulatory relief’ bill

This story appeared in Bank Digest. 

The Senate has begun debate on the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155), which would modify provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and related laws governing financial services. According to a prepared floor speech by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the bill “offers much-needed reforms that will reduce unnecessary burdens on smaller financial institutions so that they can use more of their capital serving customers, rather than complying with federal regulations that were never intended for them.” 

But according to Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the bill “weakens stress tests for all large banks,” including those designated as global systemically important banks, and “opens the door to a weakening of oversight of foreign megabanks operating in the U.S.” 

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) filed 17 amendments to demonstrate what she believes are serious flaws with the bill. In addition, Sens. John Kennedy (R-La) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced an amendment intended to make it easier for consumers to protect their credit and fix mistakes in the wake of the Equifax security breach.

Republican amicus brief supports President Trump's authority to designate CFPB acting director

This story appeared in Bank Digest.                                     

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have led more than 100 Republican representatives and senators in filing an amicus brief in the case of Leandra English v. Donald J. Trump and John M. Mulvaney. The brief supports the President's authority to designate an acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. 

President Donald Trump has appointed Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to be CFPB acting director, but CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English and Democratic Congress members have contended that she is the Bureau's lawful acting director under the Dodd-Frank Act. 

English filed a complaint in November 2017 maintaining that she became the Bureau's acting director by operation of law when former CFPB director Richard Cordray's resignation took effect.