InfoBytes Blog

Fed/CFPB OIG Recommends CFPB Strengthen Conflicts-of-Interest Controls

On March 15, the Office of Inspector General for the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (OIG) issued its findings in the evaluation report titled The CFPB Can Strengthen Its Controls for Identifying and Avoiding Conflicts of Interest Related to Vendor Activities (the Report), stemming from an evaluation of the risk of potential conflicts of interest when using vendors to support fair lending compliance and enforcement analysis. The Report covers the time period of June 2012 through January 2016. To assist the CFPB’s Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity’s fair lending oversight function, the Bureau contracted with vendors to “conduct statistical analysis designed to assess an institution’s compliance with fair lending laws and to serve as an expert witness when needed.” The function of the evaluation was to assess whether the Bureau effectively identified and avoided the risk of potential conflicts of interest for vendors supporting this type of work. Notably, while the OIG concluded that the Bureau’s relationship with one vendor heightened the risk of possible conflicts of interest and increased the need for timelier vendor disclosures and communications—a vendor took nearly two years to disclose a relationship with a firm included on a CFPB task order but later confirmed no work was performed—no actual conflicts of interest were found in its evaluation. The OIG presented the following recommendations:

• Ensure vendors comply with existing documentation requirements;
• Clarify roles and responsibilities; and
• Improve the facilitation of vendor disclosure of potential conflicts or receive affirmation that conflicts do not exist at the start of every task order.

Furthermore, the OIG recommended evaluating the costs and benefits of performing more fair lending analysis internally, which may effectively mitigate such risks

Consumer Finance CFPB OIG

FDIC Releases 2016 Annual Report; Separately, FDIC’s OIG Issues Report Critical of Bank Service Provider Contracts

On February 15, the FDIC released  its 2016 Annual Report–which includes, among other things, the audited financial statements of the Deposit Insurance Fund and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) Resolution Fund. The report also provides an overview of key FDIC initiatives, performance results and other aspects of FDIC operations.

Separately, on the same day, the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released an Audit Report (EVAL-17-004) on the adequacy of a small but random sample of contracts between FDIC-supervised institutions and their technology service providers (TSPs), in light of federal law and banking agency guidance on customer privacy-protection and how to properly manage third-party relationships. All sampled contracts had been designated as “critical” or “high” risk to the supervised institutions’ operations. The OIG specifically evaluated, and generally found insufficient, the clarity of contract provisions on TSP obligations regarding: (i) business continuity planning; and (ii) responding to and reporting on cybersecurity incidents. Despite the insufficiencies noted, the OIG acknowledged that because many contracts were negotiated before some of the relevant guidance was issued, “more time is needed to allow FDIC and FFIEC efforts to have a demonstrable” impact on contractual language.

As a result of these findings, the OIG recommended—and FDIC management agreed—that the agency, after allowing appropriate time for current guidance to be implemented, conduct a “full horizontal review to assess” any continued presence of the contractual insufficiencies noted in the report. The FDIC will “prepare” that horizontal review in 2018.

Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security FDIC FFIEC OIG Vendor Management

HUD OIG: Mortgage Servicing Issues Cost FHA $2.23 Billion

On October 14, the HUD Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) published a report on HUD’s monitoring and payment of conveyance claims upon termination of FHA-insured mortgages. According to the report, mortgage servicers’ failure to foreclose on properties or meet conveyance deadlines may have cost the FHA an estimated $2.23 billion in unreasonable and unnecessary holding costs. HUD-OIG concluded that deficiencies in 24 CFR Part 203 did not “enable HUD to provide effective oversight and HUD monitored only a small percentage of servicers after the claim had been paid.” As a result of its findings, HUD-OIG recommended that HUD (i) amend 24 CFR Part 203 to include “a maximum period for filing insurance claims and disallowance of expenses incurred beyond established timelines”; (ii) develop an IT plan that that ensures significant operational changes to how HUD monitors single-family conveyance claims; and (iii) establish and implement controls to identify noncompliance with 24 CFR 203.402.

Federal Issues Mortgages Foreclosure Mortgage Servicing HUD FHA OIG

OIG Audit Determines FHFA Should Direct The GSEs To Require Independent Assurance Of Counterparties' Compliance

Recently, the FHFA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the FHFA can further mitigate the risks posed by Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s reliance on third-party mortgage loan sellers and servicers (counterparties). The OIG recommended that the FHFA direct the two GSEs to assess a risk-based approach as to whether the counterparties should obtain independent, third-party attestations of their compliance with origination and servicing requirements, which would complement but not replace Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s own onsite reviews and other performance monitoring controls. The purpose of the recommendation was to increase assurance that the $4.8 trillion in GSE-owned and -guaranteed mortgages are appropriately originated and serviced. The recommendation came at the heels of an OIG audit of FHFA’s oversight over how the GSEs ensure that third party loan sellers and servicers comply with the GSEs’ requirements. The OIG’s recommendation was based on the finding that the GSEs currently rely on the counterparties’ self-representations of their compliance, and only a portion of loans purchased are subject to detailed quality reviews. Per the OIG’s recommendation, the attestations can be implemented in a manner that considers cost versus benefit based on a given counterparty’s size, complexity, performance, and other risk factors. The FHFA did not agree with the OIG recommendation, and the OIG is requesting that FHFA reconsider its disagreement with the recommendation.

Freddie Mac Fannie Mae FHFA OIG

FHFA OIG Calls for Oversight of Counterparty Compliance with Consumer Protection Laws

On March 26, the FHFA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report that concludes the FHFA has failed to actively oversee how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac monitor counterparty compliance with federal and state consumer protection laws. The OIG review found that the FHFA is vulnerable to questions about why it does not have a strategy to monitor the Enterprises’ activities to assess whether they are aligned with the public interest as reflected in federal and state laws and regulations, and that the Enterprises’ failure to pursue seller repurchase demands related to mortgages in default with no material underwriting deficiencies—but that were originated in violation of consumer protection laws—may result in losses to the Enterprises that could be avoided or mitigated. The OIG concludes that given the FHFA’s duty under HERA to ensure that the activities of the Enterprises are consistent with the public interest, the FHFA should develop and implement a risk-based plan to monitor the Enterprises’ oversight of their counterparties’ compliance with contractual requirements, including consumer protection laws. According to the report, the FHFA has begun to put together a plan to address this oversight role.

Freddie Mac Fannie Mae FHFA OIG HERA