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California updates foreign language disclosure requirements for mortgage modifications
On September 11, the California governor approved SB 1201, which amends the state civil code to, among other things, require any supervised financial institution that negotiates a mortgage loan modification with a borrower primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean and offers the borrower a final loan modification in writing, to deliver to the borrower at the same time, a specified form summarizing the modified terms in the same language as the negotiation. The amendments require the California Department of Business Oversight (CDBO) to make available—using CFPB and Fannie Mae forms as guidance—certain disclosures and forms in those specified languages.
The amendments are generally effective on January 1, 2019, with the amendments relating to the new written disclosures to become operative 90 days following the issuance of forms by the CDBO, but not before January 1, 2019.
New York Fed report finds CFPB oversight does not significantly reduce volume of mortgage lending
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) released a June 2018 Staff Report titled “Does CFPB Oversight Crimp Credit?” which concludes that there is little evidence that CFPB oversight significantly reduces the overall volume of mortgage lending. The report compared the lending outcomes of companies subject to CFPB oversight with smaller institutions below $10 billion in total assets that are exempt from CFPB supervision and enforcement activities, as well as lending outcomes before and after the CFPB’s creation in July 2011. Using HMDA data, bank balance sheets, and bank noninterest expenses, the report concluded, among other things, that (i) CFPB oversight may have changed the composition of lending—supervised banks originated fewer loans to lower-income, lower-credit score borrowers; (ii) there has been a drop in lending to borrowers with no co-applicant by CFPB supervised banks; and (iii) there has been an increase in origination of “jumbo” mortgage loans by CFPB supervised banks. The report noted that its results do not speak to the effect of the CFPB’s rulemaking, such as the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosure rule.
DOJ settles with Minnesota community bank to resolve fair lending violations
On May 8, the Department of Justice announced a settlement with a Minnesota community bank to resolve allegations that the lender excluded predominantly minority neighborhoods from its mortgage lending service in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). According to the complaint filed in 2017, between 2010 and 2015, the bank engaged in unlawful redlining in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota by meeting the residential credit needs of individuals in majority-white census tracts, but avoided serving similar needs in majority-minority census tracts. The settlement requires the bank to expand its banking services in predominantly minority neighborhoods, including opening one full service branch within the specified census tract. In addition to compliance monitoring and reporting requirements, the bank is also required to (i) employ a Community Development Officer and an Executive leader; (ii) spend a minimum of $300,000 on advertising, outreach, and education and credit repair initiatives; (iii) invest a minimum of $300,000 in a program for special purpose loan subsidies; and (iv) continue to provide fair lending training to all employees.
Ohio Governor Signs Residential Mortgage Lending Act
On December 22, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed legislation enacting amendments to the state’s residential mortgage lending act. HB 199, among other things, (i) updates certain definitions, such as modifying the definition of “nationwide mortgage licensing system and registry” to broadly include “persons providing non-depository financial services”; (ii) provides limits on the application of the current law to “unsecured loans and loans secured by other than residential real estate”; and (iii) updates requirements for applicants registering for mortgage loan originator licenses. The amended act takes effect March 23.
Fannie Mae Updates Selling Guide with Underwriting Information on Borrower Credit Freezes
On December 19, Fannie Mae announced updates to its Selling Guide, including guidance related to underwriting a loan for borrowers who have frozen their credit files at one or more of the three national credit repositories. The Selling Guide now states that a credit report is acceptable for manual underwriting or “Desktop Underwriter” when a borrower’s credit information is frozen at only one of the credit repositories as long as credit data is available from two repositories, a credit score is obtained from at least one of those two repositories, and the lender requested a three in-file merged report. If the borrower’s credit file is frozen at two or more of the credit repositories, the loan will not be eligible for either form of underwriting. Other notable updates to the Selling Guide include, (i) adding requirements on premium pricing to the mortgage eligibility policy; (ii) relief from the enforcement of selling representations and warranties for mortgages that are subject to a disaster-related forbearance plan, where the disaster impacting the loan occurred on or after August 25, 2017 and other requirements are met; (iii) additional details about minimum requirements for internal audit and management controls for all seller/servicers; and (iv) consolidation in the Selling Guide of individual mortgage loan file records retention provisions from the Servicing Guide (as previously covered by InfoBytes here).
Acting Comptroller Discusses Efforts to Promote Lending and Investment in Distressed Communities
On November 2, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith A. Noreika addressed the National Association of Affordable Home Lenders to emphasize the OCC’s efforts to support depository institution lending and investment in distressed communities. In his speech, Noreika discussed the guidance issued by the OCC in August (previously covered by InfoBytes), which covers owner-occupied residential mortgage originations with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios greater than 100 percent. The guidance is intended to aid in the revitalization of certain areas around the country and provide a framework for the OCC’s monitoring of these programs for safe and sound lending practices. Noreika concluded that since August “the guidance and the programs being established…are beginning to make differences in the communities that need reinvestment the most” and encouraged their continued use by reminding the conference that these programs can also provide banks credit under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
Senate Banking Committee to Host July 20 Hearing on Mortgage Reform
On July 20, the Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on mortgage reform for small lenders. The hearing, entitled “Housing Finance Reform: Maintaining Access for Small Lenders,” will feature witnesses from the American Bankers Association, the Credit Union National Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, the Community Mortgage Lenders of America, and the Community Home Lenders Association.
South Carolina Governor Amends Mortgage Lender, Broker Licensing Requirements
On May 19, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed into law amendments (S 366) to the state’s Mortgage Lending Act, Mortgage Broker Act, and related laws to revise a variety of mortgage lending definitions, licensing procedures and requirements, and disclosure obligations. The legislation also adds license requirements for mortgage lenders who act as mortgage brokers on the majority of their mortgage loans. The amendments take effect September 16, 2017.
National Fair Housing Alliance Settles Lending Discrimination Claims Brought Against National Bank
On May 19, the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) announced it had reached an agreement with a major national bank (Bank) related to a housing discrimination complaint the NFHA filed with HUD in 2014. The complainant alleges that NFHA conducted a series of tests over a period of several months revealing a “pattern of discriminatory conduct.” Latino prospective qualified borrowers were often quoted higher monthly payment and closing costs and were denied opportunities to speak with loan officers. The complainants also cited data showing that the number of purchase loan applications received from Latinos had declined over the past few years. While the Bank denied all allegations in the complaint, it agreed to contribute more than $400,000 towards fair housing efforts in South Carolina and nationwide. Separately, the original complaint led to HUD filing charges against the Bank last December on behalf of the NFHA for lending discrimination—citing, in particular, that prospective Latino borrowers were treated less favorably than non-Latinos, in violation of the Fair Housing Act.
City of Philadelphia Sues National Bank for Discriminatory Lending Practices
On May 15, the City of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit against a national bank (Bank) alleging that it violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in discriminatory lending practices that targeted minority borrowers. (See City of Phila. v. Wells Fargo & Co., Case No. 2:17-cv-02203-LDD, 2017 WL 2060317 (E.D. Pa.).) The complaint alleges that beginning in 2004 and continuing through the present, the Bank engaged in “a continuous and unbroken discriminatory pattern and practice of issuing higher cost or more onerous mortgage loans to minority borrowers” while offering better terms to similarly situated non-minority borrowers. The City’s complaint alleges discrimination under both disparate treatment and disparate impact theories. The City claims that the Bank has a long history of both redlining (the practice of refusing to make loans in minority neighborhoods) and reverse redlining (the practice of targeting higher cost loans or loans with less favorable terms to minority neighborhoods). The complaint further describes a pattern of knowing and intentional discrimination by the Bank, relying on statistical analyses finding, among others, that: (i) a loan for a home in a predominantly minority neighborhood was 4.7 times more likely to go into foreclosure than a loan on a home in a mainly white neighborhood; (ii) African American and Latino borrowers were more than twice as likely to receive a high-cost loan as white borrowers; and (iii) when credit scores were factored in for borrowers with FICO scores of more than 660, African American borrowers were more than 2.5 times more likely than white borrowers to receive a high cost loan, and Latino borrowers more than twice as likely. As a result of the foreclosures and vacant homes, the City says it suffered a suppression of property tax revenue and increased cost of providing services such as police, fire fighting, and other municipal services.
City of Miami Suit. As previously covered in InfoBytes, the Supreme Court recently ruled that municipal plaintiffs may be “aggrieved persons” authorized to bring suit under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) against lenders for injuries allegedly flowing from discriminatory lending practices, although the five-justice majority held that such injuries must be proximately caused by the FHA violations. The Supreme Court returned the City’s lawsuit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit because, while the Court found that the City’s injuries appeared to be a foreseeable result of the lender’s practices, this was not enough to establish proximate cause. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the City can show proximate cause.