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Cordray streamlines process for student loan information requests
On May 28, Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) at the Department of Education, issued a memorandum to FSA vendors revising guidance related to handling outside requests for Department records and data. In 2017, the Department instructed loan servicers working for FSA to avoid responding directly to inquiries from third parties, including state and federal regulators, and required state attorneys general and regulators to submit requests for information directly to the Department. However, according to a blog post announcing the revised guidance, Cordray noted that FSA usually rejected the requests, thus forcing states to file lawsuits against FSA and student loan servicers in order to obtain the information. Cordray further emphasized that states and regulators need access to company policies and procedures, handbooks, consumer complaints, and other information should they think a student loan servicing company might be violating a law or regulation. The revised guidance supersedes the Department’s 2017 guidance and creates a “streamlined and expedited process” for reviewing information requests made by any state or federal authority for information pertaining to companies engaged in student loan lending or collections. Instructions are provided for vendors that receive information requests seeking to obtain Department records or data.
CFPB settles with company over misrepresenting deposit risks, loan APRs
On May 27, the CFPB announced a settlement with a Florida-based lender and the CEO of the company (collectively, “defendants”) to resolve allegations that the defendants violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act by misrepresenting the risks associated with their deposit product and the annual percentage rate (APR) associated with their consumer loans. The settlement resolves a complaint against the defendants filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in November 2020 (covered by InfoBytes here). The CFPB alleged that the company took deposits from consumers to fund loans, claiming their deposits would have a fixed and guaranteed 15 percent annual percentage yield and would be deposited at FDIC-insured institutions. However, according to the complaint, the representations were false in that the funds were not held in FDIC-insured accounts and the rate of return was not guaranteed. The CFPB also alleged that most deposited funds were used to fund short-term, high-interest personal loans that were deceptively marketed as having an APR of 440 percent when the actual APRs are alleged to have been more than 900 percent, well in excess of the rate permitted under Florida’s criminal-usury law, causing the loans to be uncollectable and creating risk that obligations could not be met to depositors who sought to withdraw their deposited funds. The complaint claimed that the defendants had loaned a total of more than $30 million to consumers since 2017.
Under the terms of the stipulated order, the defendants are (i) subject to a judgment for monetary relief and damages for the full amount defendants received from consumers who purchased their financial products and services, around $1 million, plus all interest due to consumers under the terms of the advertised products and services purchased; and (ii) required to pay a $100,000 civil money penalty. The order also permanently bans the defendants from engaging in deposit-taking activity and from making deceptive statements to consumers.
CFPB releases report on manufactured housing financing
On May 27, the CFPB released a report providing insights into manufactured housing financing, which is a source of lending for millions of manufactured housing homeowners. The report utilizes new information about manufactured housing that was added in 2018 to the list of HMDA data. The report also examines the differences between mortgage loans for site-built homes, mortgage loans for manufactured homes, and chattel loans for manufactured homes. The report found, among other things: (i) about 42 percent of manufactured home purchase loans are “chattel” loans, which are secured by the home but not the land; (ii) about 70 percent of the time, homeowners seeking a loan on a site-built home are approved, but about 30 percent of manufactured home loan applications are approved; (iii) the top five lenders account for over 40 percent of manufactured housing purchase loans and nearly 75 percent of chattel lending; and (iv) Hispanic, Black and African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, and elderly borrowers “are more likely than other consumers to take out chattel loans, even after controlling for land ownership.” The report also pointed out that “compared to mortgages for site-built homes, manufactured homes mortgages tend to have smaller loan amounts, higher interest rates, fewer refinances, and less of a secondary market, patterns that are even more acute for chattel loans.”
CFPB updates status on women and minority-owned business data
On May 24, the CFPB filed its fifth status report in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as required under a stipulated settlement reached in February with a group of plaintiffs, including the California Reinvestment Coalition. The settlement (covered by InfoBytes here) resolved a 2019 lawsuit that sought an order compelling the Bureau to issue a final rule implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires the Bureau to collect and disclose data on lending to women and minority-owned small businesses.
Among other things, the Bureau notes in the status report that it has satisfied the following required deadlines: (i) last September it released a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) outline of proposals under consideration (InfoBytes coverage here); and (ii) it convened an SBREFA panel last October and released the panel’s final report last December (InfoBytes coverage here). The Bureau reports that its rulemaking staff continues to brief new Bureau leadership on significant legal and policy issues that must be resolved in order to prepare a notice of proposed rulemaking for the Section 1071 regulations, and states that the parties have met to discuss an appropriate deadline for issuing the NPRM. According to the status report, should the parties agree on a deadline they “will jointly stipulate to the agreed date and request that the court enter that deadline.”
Find continuing Section 1071 coverage here.
VA updates loan repayment relief for Covid-19 borrowers
On June 3, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued changes updating Circular 26-21-07 to address loan repayment relief for borrowers affected by Covid-19. The circular provides servicers with information regarding home retention options and foreclosure alternatives to use to assist borrowers affected by the pandemic. The guidance stems from the extended duration of the pandemic and developments in the VA’s program. According to the changes, “servicers should not require a borrower to make a lump sum payment to bring the loan current.” Additionally, the VA will allow “for Disaster Extend Modifications to extend the loan’s original maturity date for up to 18 months, in cases where the loan is modified not later than the date that is 18 months after the date on which the COVID-19 national emergency ends.” The circular is effective until April 1, 2022.
PPP closes to new applications
On June 1, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an announcement on the closure of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to new loan guaranty applications. The PPP has provided over $798 billion in economic relief to over 8.5 million small businesses and nonprofits across the nation, and was among the first Covid-19 economic disaster relief programs to provide small businesses affected by the pandemic with emergency funds. According to the announcement, the PPP supported the “smallest of small businesses with 32 percent of the loans going to Low-and-Moderate Income (LMI) communities.” Additionally, Community Financial Institutions played a role in PPP lending to underserved communities by providing 1.5 million loans, which totaled around $30 billion. SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman pointed out, “in 2021, 96 percent of PPP loans went to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Moving forward, [the SBA] will continue to prioritize equity in all SBA programs and services.”
OCC to host compliance risk management workshops
On May 26, the OCC announced a series of examiner-led virtual workshops for the boards of directors of community national banks and federal savings associations. The workshops will focus on emerging issues regarding compliance risk, and will provide training and guidance on implementing effective compliance risk management programs, as well as guidance on regulations such as the Bank Secrecy Act and ECOA. A schedule of the upcoming workshops is available here.
Senate launches Financial Innovation Caucus
On May 25, Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), along with several other bipartisan Senators, announced the creation of the U.S. Senate Financial Innovation Caucus to highlight “responsible innovation in the United States financial system, and how financial technologies can improve markets to be more inclusive, safe and prosperous for all Americans.” The Senate will use the caucus “to discuss domestic and global financial technology issues, and to launch legislation to empower innovators, protect consumers and guide regulators, while driving U.S. financial leadership on the international stage.” The press release notes that the caucus is timely because of the “growing regulatory focus on digital assets,” which includes efforts by the Federal Reserve Board, SEC, and other foreign governments to create digital currencies. The caucus will focus on critical issues pertaining to the future of banking and U.S. competitiveness on the global stage, including: (i) distributed ledger technology (blockchain); (ii) artificial intelligence and machine learning; (iii) data management; (iv) consumer protection; (v) anti-money laundering; (vi) faster payments; (vii) central bank digital currencies; and (viii) financial inclusion and opportunity for all.
VA establishes VAPCP requirements
On May 28, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a final rule in the Federal Register, which establishes the “COVID–19 Veterans Assistance Partial Claim Payment” (VAPCP) program to help veterans resume making normal loan payments on VA-guaranteed loans after exiting forbearance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The final rule incorporates several revisions in response to comments submitted by veterans, lenders, servicers, consumer groups, and trade associations on the VA’s proposed rule published last December (covered by InfoBytes here). Under the final rule, the partial claim maximum limit is increased from the proposed 15 percent to 30 percent of the unpaid principal balance of the guaranteed loan as of the date the veteran entered into a Covid-19 forbearance. The timeframe for servicers to submit partial claim payment requests to the VA also was increased from 90 to 120 days. Additionally, the final rule will allow servicers to use the Covid-VAPCP program “even if other home retention options are feasible, provided the partial claim payment option is in the veteran’s financial interest.” For a loan to qualify for a Covid-VAPCP, among other things, (i) the guaranteed loan must have been either current or less than 30 days past due on March 1, 2020, or made on or after March 1, 2020; (ii) the veteran must have received a Covid-19 forbearance and missed at least one scheduled monthly payment; (iii) at least one unpaid scheduled monthly payment must remain that the veteran did not make while under a Covid-19 forbearance; (iv) the veteran must indicate the ability to “resume making scheduled monthly payments, on time and in full, and that the veteran occupies, as the veteran’s residence, the property securing the guaranteed loan for which the partial claim is requested”; and (v) the veteran must timely execute all necessary loan documents in order to establish an obligation to repay the partial claim payment.
Notably, the final rule strikes the following requirements that were included in the proposed rule: (i) veterans will not be required to repay the partial claim within 120 months; (ii) interest will not be charged on the Covid-VAPCP; and (iii) servicers will not have to complete financial evaluations of veterans in the program.
The rule is effective July 27.
Fed approves establishment of federally-licensed branch of Dutch payment company
On May 24, the Federal Reserve Board announced its approval of the application of a Dutch- based payment company to establish a federally-licensed branch in San Francisco. According to the order, since the company currently does not have a U.S. banking presence, its U.S. payment processing business will rely on third-party banks. Upon establishment of the San Francisco branch, the company’s operations would be transferred to the branch, and it would be eligible to engage in a wide range of payments processing and related banking activities in the U.S., thus reducing its dependence on third-party banks. Through the establishment of the branch, “the company proposes to bring its U.S. activities and operations in line with those conducted under its European Central Bank (ECB) license,” the Fed noted. The order also pointed out that “managerial and other financial resources of the company are considered consistent with approval, and the company appears to have the experience and capacity to support the proposed branch.” In addition, the company has initiated controls and procedures for its proposed branch to guarantee compliance with U.S. law and for its operations in general.