InfoBytes Blog
Filter
Subscribe to our InfoBytes Blog weekly newsletter and other publications for news affecting the financial services industry.
SBA guidance addresses unresolved First Draw PPP loans
Recently, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a procedural notice informing lenders that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) platform will begin processing new Second Draw PPP loan guarantee applications for borrowers who still have unresolved issues related to their First Draw loans. Second Draw submissions for unresolved borrowers will automatically be moved to a “research status,” providing opportunities for lenders to submit necessary documentation to support the resolution of outstanding First Draw issues. Information concerning the unresolved issues and resolution assistance will also be provided by SBA. Once outstanding First Draw issues are resolved, Second Draw loan applications will automatically be submitted into the next processing stage and will not require re-entry by the lender. However, if an outstanding First Draw issue cannot be resolved, lenders should withdraw a borrower’s Second Draw application from the platform. SBA notes that if a Second Draw application submitted before January 27 was rejected due to an unresolved First Draw issue, the lender should resubmit the application. SBA also issued several other procedural notices related to provisions under the Economic Aid Act (covered by InfoBytes here) that address, among other things, modifications to SBA’s 7(a) loan program, the elimination of certain 504 loan program fees, and a notice to lenders that SBA has informed eligible borrowers of available Section 1112 CARES Act assistance.
Acting director sets out CFPB priorities
On January 28, newly appointed CFPB acting Director, Dave Uejio, released a statement he sent to staff announcing his immediate priorities for the Bureau as: (i) relief for consumers facing hardship and economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and (ii) racial equity. Acknowledging the recently released Covid-19 Supervisory Highlights (covered by InfoBytes here), Uejio stated he was “concerned” about the findings, which noted issues with mortgage servicing, auto loan servicing, student loan servicing, and small business lending (including banks' practice of only offering Paycheck Protection Program loans to pre-existing customers). Uejio stated that going forward, the Bureau will “take aggressive action to ensure that regulated companies follow the law and meet their obligations to assist consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” noting that companies will have already received or should expect to receive a letter dictating “remediat[ion] [to] all of those who are harmed” and should “change policies, procedures, and practices to address the root causes of harms.” Moreover, Uejio will be reversing policies put into place by the previous administration, including reinstating examinations of the Military Lending Act and rescinding “public statements conveying a relaxed approach to enforcement.”
Additionally, Uejio said fair lending enforcement is a “top priority,” calling it “time” for the CFPB to “take bold and swift action on racial equity.” Uejio noted plans to “elevate and expand existing investigations and exams,” as well as add new ones and focus broadly on “unlawful conduct that disproportionately impacts communities of color and other vulnerable populations.”
SBA issues Covid-19 guidance for various loans
On January 28, the Small Business Association (SBA) issued an information notice providing an update on the tax treatment of payments related to certain 7(a) loans, 504 loans, and microloans under Section 1112 of the CARES Act. As previously covered by InfoBytes, in December 2020, the SBA released a guidance document covering the issuances of 1099-MISC forms for 7(a) loans, 504 loans, and microloans. However, due to Section 278(c) of the Covid-related Tax Relief Act of 2020, the SBA now states that lenders “are no longer required to file Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, with the IRS or furnish this form to the small businesses on whose behalf the SBA made Section 1112 payments.” Moreover, the SBA issued procedural notices covering the use of electronic signatures for 7(a) loans and 504 loans and microloans through April 30. Additionally, the SBA issued an extension on the temporary procedures for microloan closings through April 30.
Maryland regulator extends foreclosure restrictions
On January 28, the Maryland commissioner of financial regulation issued guidance that extends the “re-start date” for the initiation of residential foreclosures to March 1, 2021. The guidance is issued pursuant to the Maryland governor’s executive order 20-12-17-02, which amended and restated previous executive orders covered here, and here.
Indiana governor renews public health disaster emergency and extends some executive orders issued
On January 28, the Indiana governor issued Executive Order 21-03, which renews the public health disaster emergency, originally set forth in Executive Order 20-02 (previously discussed here), for an additional 30-day period beyond January 30, 2021. As a result, all executive orders issued since March 6, 2020, that provide that they are supplements to Executive Order 20-02 are also renewed for the same 30-day period, except to the extent that they have been rescinded, superseded, or specify that they end or expire at another specific date.
North Carolina extends eviction protections through March 31
On January 27, the governor of North Carolina issued Executive Order No. 191 extending the limitations on residential evictions, consistent with the framework set forth in the federal CDC Order, through March 31.
HUD issues Mortgagee Letter regarding temporary statutory authority to insure operating loss loans under Section 223(d)
On January 15, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued Mortgagee Letter 2021-1 to implement its temporary statutory authority to insure operating loss loans under Section 223(d) of the National Housing Act in order to mitigate the Covid-related temporary reduction of revenue of healthcare facilities. The Mortgagee Letter sets forth requirements for the supplemental loans for hospitals and residential care facilities. The Mortgagee Letter is effective for applications for insurance submitted for which firm commitments are issued no later than September 30, 2021. HUD also is imposing an application receipt deadline of Monday, August 30, 2021 to account for statutory time constraints and processing times. HUD noted that additional guidance is forthcoming.
SBA addresses PPP loan review issues
On January 26, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is “taking steps to improve the First Draw Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] loan review” in order to give small businesses more time to access PPP funds. SBA acknowledged that it identified “anomalies” in approximately 4.7 percent of lender-submitted data for the first round of PPP loans, primarily data mismatches and eligibility issues. SBA is encouraging lenders and borrowers to work together to resolve the issues so that affected borrowers can access a second round of loans, and the SBA has stated its commitment to “automatically move favorable decisions to approval.” Moreover, the SBA is addressing issues with the Second Draw PPP loan applications by (i) briefing lenders on a national call with respect to the first draw loan review and the potential impacts on second draw application approvals; (ii) training the SBA’s lender relations specialists to support lenders and borrowers with issues; and (iii) providing additional guidance to PPP lenders on the review and resolution process.
CFPB issues Covid-19 supervisory highlights
On January 19, the CFPB released a special edition of Supervisory Highlights detailing the agency’s Covid-19 prioritized assessment (PA) observations. Since May 2020, the Bureau has conducted PAs in response to the pandemic in order to obtain real-time information from supervised entities operating in markets that pose an elevated risk of pandemic-related consumer harm. According to the Bureau, the PAs are not designed to identify federal consumer financial law violations, but are intended to spot and assess risks in order to prevent consumer harm. Targeted information requests were sent to entities seeking information on, among other things, ways entities are assisting and communicating with consumers, Covid-19-related institutional challenges, compliance management system changes made in response to the pandemic, and service provider data. Highlights of the Bureau’s findings include:
- Mortgage servicing. The CARES Act established certain forbearance protections for homeowners. The Bureau pointed out that many servicers faced significant challenges, including operational constraints, resource burdens, and service interruptions. Consumer risks were also present, with several servicers (i) providing incomplete or inaccurate information regarding CARES Act forbearances, failing to timely process forbearance requests, or enrolling borrowers in unwanted or automatic forbearances; (ii) sending collection and default notices, assessing late fees, and initiating foreclosures for borrowers in forbearance; (iii) inaccurately handling borrowers’ preauthorized electronic funds transfers; and (iv) failing to take appropriate loss mitigation steps.
- Auto loan servicing. The Bureau noted that many auto loan servicers provided insufficient information to borrowers about the impact of interest accrual during deferment periods, while other servicers continued to withdraw funds for monthly payments even after agreeing to deferments. Additionally, certain borrowers received repossession notices even though servicers had suspended repossession operations during this time.
- Student loan servicing. The CARES Act established protections for certain student loan borrowers, including reduced interest rates and suspended monthly payments for most federal loans owned by the Department of Education. Many private student loan holders also offered payment relief options. The Bureau noted however that servicers faced significant challenges in implementing these protections. For certain servicers, these challenges led to issues which raised the risk of consumer harm, including (i) provision of incorrect or incomplete payment relief options; (ii) failing to maintain regular call center hours; (iii) failing to respond to forbearance extension requests; and (iv) allowing certain payment allocation errors and preauthorized electronic funds transfers.
- Small business lending. The Bureau discussed the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), noting that when “implementing the PPP, multiple lenders adopted a policy that restricted access to PPP loans beyond the eligibility requirements of the CARES Act and rules and orders issued by the SBA.” The Bureau encouraged lenders to consider and address any fair lending risks associated with PPP lending.
The Supervisory Highlights also examined areas related to credit card accounts, consumer reporting and furnishing, debt collection, deposits, prepaid accounts, and small business lending.
FHA extends Covid-19 foreclosure and eviction moratorium
On January 21, FHA announced the extension of its foreclosure and eviction moratorium through March 31. The moratorium applies to homeowners with FHA-insured Title II Single Family forward and Home Equity Conversion (reverse) mortgages, excluding legally vacant or abandoned properties, which were previously set to expire on February 28. Additionally, FHA has also extended the public and Indian Housing (PIH) eviction and foreclosure moratorium until March 31. The extensions are reflected in HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2021-03.
Additionally, FHA announced that it extended the date by which borrowers must engage with their servicer to obtain an initial Covid-19 forbearance to March 31 (details on the Covid-19 forbearance covered by InfoBytes here), and requires that mortgage servicers provide up to 6 months of forbearance or an additional 6 month extension of the initial Covid-19 forbearance. The extension is reflected in HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2021-04.