Covid-19 Infobytes
FHA issues temporary partial waivers for specific HECM policies
On June 23, the FHA announced FHA INFO 2022-64 to issue the following temporary partial waivers to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) policies for senior homeowners impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic who continue to experience significant financial difficulties. Specifically, the first...
InfoBytesCFPB releases HAF flyers in multiple languages
On June 9, the CFPB released Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) informational flyers in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, and Arabic. As previously covered by InfoBytes , the HAF program was created to provide direct assistance to consumers for mortgage payments, property...
InfoBytesCFPB reports on consumer financial well-being
On June 7, the CFPB published a “Data Spotlight” report regarding financial well-being of consumers between 2017 and 2020. In September 2017, the CFPB published its first report on Financial Well-Being in America, which found a wide variation in how people feel about their financial well-being. The...
InfoBytesTreasury issues 2022 national illicit finance strategy
On May 13, the U.S. Treasury Department issued the 2022 National Strategy for Combatting Terrorist and Other Illicit Financing (2022 Strategy). As required by federal law, the 2022 Strategy describes current U.S. government efforts to combat domestic and international illicit finance threats from...
InfoBytesCFPB report finds variance in mortgage servicers’ pandemic response
On May 16, the CFPB released a report examining data collected across 16 large mortgage servicers from May through December 2021 on the servicers’ responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Bureau, there is significant variation in how servicers collected information on borrowers’...
InfoBytesSBA says nonprofit lenders are eligible for PPP loan forgiveness
On May 5, the SBA added question #70 to its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) frequently asked questions explaining that 501(c)(3) nonprofit lenders are eligible for PPP loan forgiveness provided they have complied with all applicable PPP rules aside from 13 CFR 120.110(b). 13 CFR 120.110(b)...
InfoBytesCFPB exposes private loan servicers’ unfair practices
On May 5, the CFPB discussed examination findings related to private student loan servicers’ alleged failure to follow through with promised loan offers or modifications. The Bureau directed servicers found to have breached their commitments to make “significant remediation amounts” for failing to...
InfoBytesAgencies instruct servicers to pause foreclosures while HAF assistance is available
On May 6, the Secretaries of HUD, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, and Treasury announced that servicers of federally-backed mortgages should pause pending foreclosure proceedings while assistance is available under the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF). President Biden’s...
InfoBytesHUD offers 40-year mortgage modification
On April 18, HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-07 , which establishes a 40-year loan modification as part of the Covid-19 Recovery Loss Mitigation Options. According to HUD, the new option is “designed to help those borrowers who cannot achieve a minimum targeted 25 percent reduction in the...
InfoBytesCFPB and FTC release 2021 FDCPA report
On April 15, the CFPB and the FTC released their annual report to Congress on the administration of the FDCPA (see announcements here and here ). The agencies are delegated joint FDCPA enforcement responsibility and, pursuant to a 2019 memorandum of understanding, may share supervisory and consumer...
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