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Agencies Issue White Paper Regarding Loss Mitigation Programs
On July 25, FHFA, HUD, and Treasury published a white paper titled “Guiding Principles for the Future of Loss Mitigation: How the Lessons Learned from the Financial Crisis Can Influence the Path Forward.” The paper examines the effect of the 2008 financial crisis on the mortgage servicing industry with a focus on loss mitigation programs. Under the 2009 Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, foreclosure alternatives were established to address the needs of homeowners and to improve the mortgage servicing industry’s loss mitigation practices. According to the paper, between April 2009 and the end of May 2016, 10.5 million modification and mortgage assistance arrangements were completed through government programs and private sector efforts. The paper further notes that, as a result of FHFA’s, HUD’s, and Treasury’s programs, regulatory actions, and private sector initiatives, the mortgage industry is “generally better prepared now to provide assistance to struggling homeowners than it was before the crisis.” The improvement “is due, in part, to the adoption of certain homeowner engagement standards including continuity of contact, solicitation timeframes, and certain notice and appeal processes required by the [CFPB].” At the end of 2016, MHA programs, such as HAMP, will come to a close. Based on the agencies’ collective experience with MHA programs, the paper identifies five guiding principles for loss mitigation programs: (i) accessibility, guaranteeing homeowners a simple process for obtaining mortgage assistance; (ii) affordability, “providing homeowners with meaningful payment relief that addresses the needs of the homeowner, the servicer and the investor, to support long-term performance”; (iii) sustainability, offering long-term solutions intended to resolve delinquency; (iv) transparency, “[e]nsuring that the process to obtain assistance, and the terms of that assistance, are as clear and understandable as possible to homeowners, and that information about options and their utilization is available to the appropriate parties”; and (v) accountability, ensuring sufficient oversight of the process to obtain mortgage assistance.
HUD Announces Changes to Distressed Asset Stabilization Program
On June 30, HUD announced a series of changes to its Distressed Asset Stabilization Program (DASP). Last year, HUD updated DASP to (i) extend the time period preventing foreclosure after the note is sold from six months to one year; (ii) require servicers to evaluate borrowers for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) or a substantially similar modification; and (iii) implement non-profit only sales. In accordance with the most recent changes to DASP, “[c]ertain families with distressed mortgages insured by the [FHA] may soon be eligible for a reduction of their outstanding loan amounts should their mortgages be sold through DASP.” In addition, HUD’s fact sheet for the recent changes announces that DASP will, among other things: (i) limit interest rate increases to no more than one percent per year after a five-year period where the rate is fixed, thereby implementing payment shock protection and ensuring consistency with HAMP; (ii) prohibit purchasers from “walking away” from vacant properties; (iii) revise the 120-day delinquency notice to advise borrowers that their loan may be sold; (iv) set a goal to sell 10 percent of assets to non-profits and local governments; (v) release performance and outcome data on a pool level (instead of a sale level); (vi) release demographic data on sales; (vii) strengthen requirements for investors to obtain Neighborhood Stabilization Outcome (NSO) credit when selling to non-profits; and (viii) target loans for DASP sales based on non-profit and local government interest.
Fannie Mae Updates Servicing Guide; GSEs Update the Uniform Closing Dataset
On November 25, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2015-14 to reveal recent updates to the Servicing Guide. Specifically, Fannie Mae updated guidance relating to 10 areas, including but not limited to: (i) the Remittance of Property (Hazard) Insurance Loss Proceeds for Short Sales; (ii) Pledge of Servicing Rights and Transfers of Interest in Servicing Compensation; (iii) Timeline Requirements for HAMP Expanded “Pay for Performance” Incentive Notices; (iv) Early Delinquency Counseling Requirements; and (v) the removal of the Borrower Notification Sample Letter Exhibit.
In separate November 17 announcements, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively the GSEs) revealed updates to the Uniform Closing Dataset, developed as part of the Uniform Mortgage Data Program to facilitate lender submission of the Closing Disclosure Form under the new TILA/RESPA regulations. The updates revise Appendix A: Closing Disclosure Mapping to the MISMO and Appendix H: UCD Delivery Specification and include: (i) newly added data points; (ii) changes to conditionality for several data points; (iii) changes/additions to the enumerated values; and (iv) updates to conditionality details.
Buckley Sandler Secures Major Victory on Behalf of Mortgage Servicer in Putative Class Action Suit
On August 25, BuckleySandler secured a substantial victory in a putative class action in the Northern District of Illinois. McGann v. PNC, No. 11-c-6894 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 25, 2015). The suit alleged that a major mortgage servicer failed to convert Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Trial Period Plans (TPPs) into permanent modifications. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, with jurisdiction over the Northern District of Illinois, has allowed similar claims to survive dismissal. See Wigod v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 673 F.3d 547 (7th Cir. 2012). And the Ninth Circuit has allowed such claims to go forward on a classwide basis. See Corvello v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Nos. 11-16234, 11-16242, 2013 WL 4017279 (9th Cir. Aug. 8, 2013).
Despite this potentially adverse precedent relevant to the pleadings stage, BuckleySandler secured summary judgment in its client’s favor following extensive discovery by extracting key admissions from Plaintiff. These admissions established that the servicer “repeatedly told her either that her application was being reviewed or that it had been rejected but would be reinstated. A promise to review or even to reinstate an application is not a promise that the application will result in a permanent loan modification . . . she still had to meet HAMP’s requirements. That was clear from the TPP agreement itself.” Opinion at 9. The Court further held that even if these statements led Plaintiff to a subjective belief that the loan would be modified, Plaintiff could not show any actions she took in reliance, nor that any reliance would be reasonable. Opinion at 11.
Finally, the Court also held that the servicer did not engage in any unfair conduct under Illinois’ UDAAP statute, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. The plaintiff in the matter was not a borrower on the note, but rather a non-borrower mortgagor, for whom HAMP was not available during the time in question. The Court agreed the servicer complied with HAMP guidelines in denying the permanent modification. Opinion at 16-17. And the Court went on to hold that the servicer was entitled to summary judgment for the additional reason that the evidence in discovery established that the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries was her non-qualification for HAMP, her inability to pay the mortgage, and the resulting foreclosure of the home, none of which was proximately caused by any wrongful conduct of the servicer. Opinion at 15-16.
GAO Recommends Better Data Analysis to Improve TARP Housing Programs
On October 6, the GAO released a report recommending that the Treasury Department improve its analysis of data it collects on HAMP. As of June, Treasury has disbursed only about one-third of the $38.5 billion in TARP funds allocated to housing programs and fewer borrowers have received first-lien modifications under HAMP than Treasury originally estimated. Treasury does collect data on HAMP denial and redefault rates, but its evaluation of data to help explain differences in these rates between servicers is limited. For example, some variations may be caused by differences in servicer practices that would not necessarily be caught by Treasury’s compliance reviews or analyses of reporting errors. The GAO report recommends more sophisticated analysis of the data in order to identify the reasons for variations in denial rates and redefaults among servicers. The GAO hopes more robust data analysis will help Treasury increase oversight and transparency, improve its policies and guidance, and ensure that HAMP reaches the greatest number of eligible borrowers.
Mortgage Company Resolves HAMP-Related Criminal Allegations
On July 3, the DOJ announced the resolution of a multi-agency criminal investigation into the way a large mortgage company administered the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). According to a Restitution and Remediation Agreement released by the company’s parent bank, the company agreed to pay up to $320 million to resolve allegations that it made misrepresentations and omissions about (i) how long it would take to make HAMP qualification decisions; (ii) the duration of HAMP trial periods; and (iii) how borrowers would be treated during those trial periods. In exchange for the monetary payments and other corrective actions by the company, the government agreed not to prosecute the company for crimes related to the alleged conduct. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, as well as the FHFA Inspector General—which has authority to oversee Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s HAMP programs—and the Special Inspector General for TARP—which has responsibility for the Treasury Department HAMP program and jurisdiction over financial institutions that received TARP funds. This criminal action comes in the wake of a DOJ Inspector General report that was critical of the Justice Department’s mortgage fraud enforcement efforts, and which numerous members of Congress used to push DOJ to more vigorously pursue alleged mortgage-related violations. In announcing the action, the U.S. Attorney acknowledged that other HAMP-related investigations are under way, and that more cases may be coming.
GAO Recommends Enhanced Oversight of HAMP Servicers' Fair Lending Compliance
On February 6, the GAO released a report of its review of Making Home Affordable (MHA)/Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) servicers’ compliance with fair lending laws. The GAO states that while the Treasury Department requires MHA servicers to develop internal control programs that monitor compliance with fair lending laws, Treasury has not assessed the extent to which servicers are meeting this requirement. Treasury noted that it shares HAMP loan-level data with the federal agencies responsible for fair lending enforcement. GAO states that its analysis of HAMP loan-level data from four large MHA servicers identified some statistically significant differences in the rate of denials and cancellations of trial modifications as well as in the potential for redefault between populations protected by fair lending laws and other populations. GAO acknowledges that its analysis alone cannot account for all factors that could explain these differences. It states that reviewing the fair lending internal controls of MHA servicers could give Treasury additional assurance that servicers are complying with fair lending laws. The report recommends that Treasury should (i) assess the extent to which servicers have established internal control programs to monitor compliance with fair lending laws, (ii) issue guidance to servicers on working effectively with limited English proficiency borrowers, and (iii) monitor servicers’ compliance with that guidance. Treasury noted that it was considering GAO’s recommendations and agreed that it should continue to strengthen its program.
Illinois Extends Foreclosure Protection
On December 26, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed SB 1045, which extends through 2015 an existing state foreclosure protection. Under state law, a borrower facing foreclosure can seek to block a judicial foreclosure sale based on a pending federal HAMP modification. The state protection was set to expire at the close of 2013, but was extended to match the federal extension of HAMP through December 31, 2015.
Ninth Circuit Judge Withdraws Fraud Characterization of Bank's HAMP Trial Plan
On September 23, in a brief order, a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit withdrew his concurrence in a recent opinion in which the court held that HAMP Trial Period Plans (TPPs) create a contractual obligation for servicers to offer a permanent modification to borrowers who complete the TPP. Corvello v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Nos. 11-16234, 11-16242 (9th Cir. Sept. 23, 2013). In the concurring opinion, the judge had argued that the bank created the trial plan document for “the fraudulent purpose of inducing [the borrower] to make the payments while the bank retained the option of modifying the loan or stiffing him.” The bank filed a motion for rehearing and asked the court to withdraw the concurrence because the Treasury Department, not the bank, drafted the trial plan document and required its use. Therefore, according to the bank, its actions should not be characterized as fraudulent because it adhered to its obligations by using the required HAMP documents.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Extend Streamlined Modifications, Announce HAMP Changes, Increase Certain State Foreclosure Timelines
On September 16, Freddie Mac issued Bulletin 2013-17, and on September 18, Fannie Mae issued Servicing Guide Announcement SVC-2013-18, which extend those entities’ streamlined modification programs to include all streamlined modification trial period plans that become effective by December 1, 2015. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also extended the expiration date for HAMP such that Trial Period Plan Effective Dates must be on or before March 1, 2016 and Modification Effective Dates must be on or before September 1, 2016. Fannie Mae further applied these extended time frames to Second-Lien Modification Programs. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac revised their eligibility requirements for proposed HAMP modifications that are submitted through the Treasury Net Present Value Model on or after January 1, 2014. Further, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (i) retired the annual servicer “Pay for Success” incentive for HAMP-eligible mortgages, effective for modifications with effective dates on or after April 1, 2014 and (ii) updated requirements for repurchased loans subject to a HAMP permanent mortgage loan modification or trial plan. Finally, the Freddie Mac bulletin increased state foreclosure timelines by 30 days in Nevada, New Mexico, and Washington, for all foreclosure sales completed after September 1, 2013, while Fannie took the same action through a separate servicing notice.