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Special Alert: CFPB takes first-ever agency redlining action against nonbank lender
On July 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a complaint against a Chicago-based nonbank mortgage company alleging fair lending violations predicated, in part, on statements made by the company’s owner and other employees during radio shows and podcasts from 2014 through 2017. The complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, marks the first instance in which a federal regulator has taken a public enforcement action against a nondepository institution based on allegations of redlining.
According to the CFPB, the mortgage company violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Act by engaging in discriminatory marketing and applicant outreach practices that allegedly:
House hearing on mortgage servicers’ implementation of CARES Act
On July 16, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing entitled “Protecting Homeowners During the Pandemic: Oversight of Mortgage Servicers’ Implementation of the CARES Act.” The subcommittee’s memorandum regarding the hearing discussed, among other things, the HUD Office of Inspector General’s report of its review of the type of forbearance information accessible to borrowers on the top 30 mortgage servicers’ websites. The report highlighted concerns that 10 of the servicers failed to have forbearance information “‘readily available’ on their websites,” 14 servicers’ websites did not provide information about the length of the forbearance period to which borrowers are entitled under the CARES Act, and certain servicers “included information giving the impression that lump sum payments were required at the end of the forbearance period.”
Witnesses discussed widespread issues in CARES Act-related mortgage servicing, with several witnesses and lawmakers highlighting how preexisting inequalities have especially imperiled black and Latinx home ownership during the Covid-19 pandemic. One witness suggested that servicers should be required to provide written notice to borrowers of their options and rights under the CARES Act and should be held accountable for failing to provide consistent, accurate forbearance information to borrowers in a timely manner. Another witness noted that housing counselors have reported servicers providing misinformation on payment and deferral options, and stressed the need for coordinated efforts between the CFPB, FHFA, and HUD, in addition to strong supervisory and enforcement activity.
Other topics discussed during the hearing included (i) the importance of providing clear guidance for borrowers, as well as the importance of loan modifications, loss mitigation options, and long term solutions once forbearance has ended; (ii) understanding what servicers of non-federally backed mortgages not covered by the CARES Act are doing to assist borrowers, and whether there should be a safe harbor for these mortgage servicers from investor liability; and (iii) the CFPB’s responsibility for overseeing servicers. One of the witnesses noted during the hearing, however, that many mortgage servicers offered homeowners forbearance options before the CARES Act, provided forbearance to homeowners with non-federally backed mortgages, and have responded to “an evolving series of program and regulatory announcements from various programs and agencies.”
CFPB releases updated Covid-19 consumer complaints bulletin
On July 16, the CFPB released a newly updated consumer complaint bulletin analyzing complaints the Bureau has received during the Covid-19 pandemic. The bulletin analyzes complaints mentioning coronavirus-related key words (such as Covid, coronavirus, pandemic, CARES Act, and stimulus) that were received as of May 31. Complaints related to Covid-19 accounted for 8,357 of the more than 187,000 complaints the Bureau has received in 2020. Highlights of the bulletin include: (i) mortgage and credit cards are the top complaint categories for Covid-19 complaints; (ii) after the emergency declaration, the weekly average complaint volume for prepaid cards grew 105 percent, while the volume for student loans decreased by 24 percent; and (iii) 10 percent of complaints submitted by servicemembers were Covid-19 related compared to six percent of non-servicemember complaints. As previous covered by InfoBytes, in May, the Bureau issued the first complaint bulletin analyzing approximately 4,500 Covid-19-related complaints received at that time.
Additionally, the CFPB announced new capabilities for the public Consumer Complaint Database, including the ability to (i) view complaints over time to review for trends; (ii) refine visualizations based on user selected criteria; and (iii) aggregate complaints by various categories, such as issues and products.
FHA proposes revisions to single family servicing policies
On July 14, FHA published proposed revisions to the Servicing and Loss Mitigation section (Section III) of the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (SF Handbook) on the agency’s drafting table. The proposed revisions include: (i) changes to the standard servicing loss mitigation home retention waterfall; (ii) elimination of certain borrower documentation requirements for Trial Payment Plans to be consistent with industry practices; and (iii) modification of certain operational policies to provide more consistency between FHA policies and those used by Government Sponsored Enterprises and the private market. The proposed revisions do not address the immediate servicing and loss mitigation challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Comments on the proposed revisions must be received by September 12.
CFPB Consumer Financial Protection Week roundup
As part of the CFPB’s Consumer Financial Protection Week, the Bureau released several reports and tools, including a recently published study analyzing the impact of credit builder loans (CBLs) on consumer credit scores. The study, Targeting Credit Builder Loans: Insights from a Credit Builder Loan Evaluation (accompanied by a practitioner’s guide and research on CBLs), provides insight for community-based organizations and financial institutions on expanding financial inclusion through the use of CBLs, which are designed to assist individuals with no credit records or poor credit histories to build or repair their credit. According to the Bureau, the central feature of a CBL is that a borrower makes payments before receiving funds. When a CBL is opened by a borrower, the lender moves its own funds into a locked escrow account and the borrower makes installment payments, including interest and fees, typically over a period of six to 24 months. These payments appear on the borrower’s credit report, and the lender deposits the principal payments into the borrower’s savings account “after each payment or in entirety when the borrower completes the program.” According to the Bureau, a typical CBL ranges from $300 to $1,000. The Bureau’s study examined 1,531 credit union members who were offered CBLs. The research revealed that a CBL increased the likelihood of having a credit score by 24 percent for borrowers without an existing loan, and that borrowers without existing debt saw their credit scores rise by 60 points more than borrowers carrying existing debt. Additionally, the Bureau found an association between having a CBL and an increase in a borrower’s savings balance. The Bureau cautioned, however, that the study’s findings also indicated that CBLs appeared to cause a decrease in credit scores for borrowers with existing debt, suggesting that these borrowers experienced difficulty making payments on both their CBL and their existing debt obligations.
The Bureau also released the results from the Making Ends Meet survey, which provides insight into how U.S. consumers cope with financial shortfalls. The survey, conducted prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in May 2019, offers a nationally representative assessment of consumers with credit records. Among its findings, the report noted that 52 percent of survey respondents said they could cover expenses for two months or less without their main source of income, while 20 percent could cover expenses for only two weeks or less.
A report exploring the credit records of young servicemembers that compares servicemembers’ credit profiles to the credit profiles of civilians was also recently published, along with an online tool to help students make informed decisions about paying for college.
FTC launches military consumer data tool
On July 13, the FTC released an interactive military dashboard (updated quarterly) that explores data received from active duty servicemembers, veterans, and all military (including military families and reservists) on issues they may experience in the marketplace. Government imposter was the top reported scam type for active duty military personnel, followed by unwanted telemarketing calls, business imposters, online shopping and counterfeit check scams. Other top report categories included identity theft, credit bureaus, third party debt collection, credit cards, mortgage lending, and creditor debt collection. Additionally, reports from the Consumer Sentinel Network showed that from 2015 through the first two quarters of 2020, the median fraud loss for veterans and retirees was $750. The FTC noted that it uses these reports as part of its law enforcement investigations and shares the reports with law enforcement users around the country.
CFPB takes action against student debt-relief operation
On July 13, the CFPB filed a complaint in federal district court against a nationwide student loan debt-relief business—consisting of two companies, their owners, and four attorneys—for allegedly charging thousands of customers approximately $11.8 million in upfront fees in violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR). According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the companies would market its debt-relief services to customers over the phone, encouraging those with private loans to sign up with an attorney to reduce or eliminate their student debt. The attorney agreement typically provided for “a fee, typically 40 [percent] of the outstanding debt, to be paid by monthly installments, along with a processing fee that costs an additional $10 per month.” The business allegedly charged the fees before the consumer had made at least one payment on the altered debts, in violation of the TSR’s prohibition on requesting or receiving advance fees for debt-relief service or, for certain defendants, the TSR’s prohibition on providing substantial assistance to someone charging the illegal fees.
On August 17, the court approved stipulated final judgments with four of the defendants (one company owner and three of the attorneys, here, here, and here). The company owner is permanently banned from providing debt-relief services or engaging in telemarketing of any consumer financial product or service, and is required to pay $25,000 in partial satisfaction of a suspended $11.8 million in redress. Similarly, the three attorneys are each banned from providing debt-relief services and required to pay $5,000, $21,567, and $30,000 each in partial satisfaction of various redress amounts. Additionally, the judgments impose a civil money penalty of $1 against each defendant.
CFPB reports on debt settlement and credit counseling
On July 10, the CFPB released the latest quarterly consumer credit trends report on debt settlement and credit counseling from 2007 through 2019. The report notes that debt settlements “increased sharply” during the 2008 recession. It also noted that debt settlement activity has been on the rise again following changes in delinquencies and credit tightness. The Bureau concludes that the recent increase in debt settlement activity is a “function of changing macroeconomic conditions, creditor account management strategies, and apparent increases in for-profit [debt settlement] activity.” The report notes that there is no corresponding increase in credit counseling activities, which is consistent with debt settlement companies “gaining market presence” and a reduction in the availability of credit counseling programs.
Fannie Mae updates Lender Letter 2020-07 on Covid-19 payment deferrals
On July 15, Fannie Mae updated Lender Letter 2020-07. The additions (i) update requirements for repayment of escrow shortage amounts identified in connection with a Covid-19 payment deferral or as part of the next annual analysis, (ii) clarify how certain applicable fees (e.g., servicing, guaranty, and excess servicing fees) will be reimbursed for mortgage loans that receive a disaster payment deferral, and (iii) clarify that the servicer must evaluate the borrower for a Flex Modification in accordance with the reduced eligibility criteria when the borrower becomes 60 days delinquent within six months of the Covid-19 related payment deferral’s effective date and the servicer is unable to achieve quality right party contact.
Fannie Mae updates Lender Letter 2020-02 to address impact of Covid-19 on disbursing insurance loss proceeds and HAMP incentives.
On July 15, Fannie Mae updated Lender Letter 2020-02 to include information on servicer requirements related to disbursing insurance loss proceeds for borrowers impacted by Covid-19 as well as Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) “Pay for Performance” incentives. For purposes of disbursing insurance loss proceeds, the servicer must consider a loan to be current or less than 31 days delinquent if the borrower has experienced a Covid-19 related hardship and certain criteria are met. Separately, the guidance clarifies the impact of Covid-19 on HAMP “Pay for Performance” incentives. Specifically, the mortgage loan does not lose good standing and the borrower will not lose any “pay for performance” incentives if the borrower (i) immediately reinstates the mortgage loan upon expiration of the Covid-19 related forbearance plan or (ii) transitions directly from a Covid-19 related forbearance plan to a repayment plan.