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CFPB Releases Updated TRID Compliance Guide
On October 12, the CFPB issued an updated version of its small entity compliance guide on the Know Before You Owe TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule. The updated TRID compliance guide incorporates guidance from CFPB webinars on various topics, including (i) record retention; (ii) Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure requirements, including format and delivery; (iii) good faith standards and determinations; (iv) disclosures related to seller-paid costs; and (v) construction loans. The newly released TRID compliance guide replaces the CFPB’s July 2015 guide. The CFPB also issued a separate revised guide for completing the Loan Estimate and Disclosure forms.
CFPB Releases Final Rule on Prepaid Financial Products; Chamber of Digital Commerce Comments on Scope of the Rule
On October 5, the CFPB released its final rule on prepaid financial products, including traditional prepaid cards, mobile wallets, person-to-person payment products, and other electronic accounts with the ability to store funds. The rule is intended to provide consumers with additional federal protections under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act analogous to the protections checking account consumers receive. The following federal protections are included in the new rule: (i) financial institutions will be required to provide certain account information for free via telephone, online, and in writing upon request, unless periodic statements are provided; (ii) financial institutions must work with consumers who find errors on their accounts, including unauthorized or fraudulent charges, timely investigate and resolve these incidents, and restore missing funds when appropriate; and (iii) consumers will be protected against unauthorized transactions, such as withdrawals or purchases, if their prepaid cards are lost or stolen. The rule contains new “Know Before You Owe” prepaid disclosures similar to those used for mortgages and student financial aid offers. In addition to requiring two (one short, the other long) disclosure forms, the new rule requires that prepaid account issuers post agreement offers made available to the general public on their websites, submit all agreements to the CFPB, and make agreements that are not required to be posted on their website available to relevant consumers. The new rule also includes credit protections stemming primarily from the Truth in Lending Act and the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act, including providing consumers with monthly credit billing statements, giving consumers reasonable time – at least 21 days – to repay their debt before incurring late fees, ensuring that consumers are able to repay the debt before making a credit offer, and limiting the fee and interest charges to 25% of the total credit limit during the first year an account is open. The rule, which has not yet been published in the Federal Register, has a general compliance date of October 1, 2017, but includes certain accommodations, one of which is an October 2018 effective date for the requirement that agreements be submitted to the CFPB.
The Chamber of Digital Commerce submitted comments to the CFPB in December advocating that virtual currency products and services should fall outside the scope of the prepaid rule. Pursuant to the final rule, the CFPB found that “application of Regulation E and this final rule to such products and services is outside the scope of this rulemaking.”
CFPB Sues Title Lenders for Failure to Post APRs
On September 21, the CFPB announced that it had filed five separate administrative actions against online auto title lenders formed in and operating out of Arizona. In the Notice of Charges to each company, the CFPB alleges that the lender violated the Truth in Lending Act by advertising periodic interest rates on their websites without including a corresponding annual percentage rate (APR). In one case, the lender had provided a monthly rate, and instructed consumers to multiply it by 12, but failed to inform consumers that the sum would be the APR. The CFPB is seeking monetary penalties and administrative orders to correct the alleged practices.
OCC Senior Deputy Comptroller Highlights the Importance of SCRA and MLA Compliance
On August 29, OCC Senior Deputy Comptroller Grovetta Gardineer delivered remarks at the 2016 Association of Military Banks of America Workshop, emphasizing the significance of banks’ compliance with the Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and the Military Lending Act (MLA). Although Gardineer noted that SCRA-related issues have decreased since making SCRA compliance an examination focus, she stressed that room for improvement remains. Gardineer advised banks to perform due diligence with third-party vendors, noting that banks “will be held accountable for failures” by their third-party vendors. Gardineer further cautioned that, in light of the new MLA requirements taking effect on October 3, banks must ensure that they properly identify military borrowers entitled to the MLA’s expanded coverage, which will include “nearly all consumer credit covered under the Truth in Lending Act.”
Federal Reserve and CFPB Propose Method for Adjusting TILA and Consumer Leasing Act Exemption Thresholds
On July 22, the CFPB and the Federal Reserve released proposed rules detailing the method for adjusting the dollar thresholds in Regulation Z (TILA) and Regulation M (Consumer Leasing Act/CLA) for exempt consumer credit and lease transactions. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the exemption thresholds in TILA and the CLA are adjusted annually based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The recently released proposals seek to clarify, among other things, that in the years following a year in which there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the CFPB and Federal Reserve will not adjust the exemption thresholds. Comments on the proposals are due within 30 days of publication in the Federal Register.
Agencies Propose Method for Adjusting Small-Loan-Exemption Threshold under HPML Appraisal Rules
On July 22, the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, and the OCC issued a joint proposal “detailing the method that will be used to make annual inflation adjustments to the threshold for exempting small loans from higher-priced mortgage loan appraisal requirements.” The Dodd-Frank Act amended TILA to establish special appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans (HPMLs). To implement these requirements, the OCC, NCUA, CFPB, Federal Reserve, FDIC, and FHFA issued final rules that became effective on January 18, 2014. The rules exempt transactions of $25,000 or less and require that the $25,000 threshold be adjusted annually to reflect any percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The recently-issued joint proposal would memorialize the calculation method for determining such adjustments and further clarify that, if there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the exemption threshold from the prior year will not be adjusted. Comments on the proposal are due within 30 days of publication in the Federal Register.
CFPB's Summer Edition of Supervisory Highlights Discloses Issues across Various Financial Markets
On June 30, the CFPB released its twelfth edition of Supervisory Highlights providing supervisory observations from its examiners in the areas of auto origination, debt collection, mortgage origination, small-dollar lending, and fair lending. In the area of auto origination, examiners determined that one or more institutions engaged in deceptive advertising practices related to the benefits of gap coverage products and the effects of payment deferrals, and failed to implement adequate compliance management systems. In the area of debt collection, examiners found that debt sellers sold thousands of debts that were unsuitable for sale because: (i) the accounts were in bankruptcy; (ii) the debts were the product of fraud; or (iii) the accounts had been paid in full. CFPB examiners further observed violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), determining that at least one collector falsely represented to consumers that a down payment was necessary in order to establish a repayment arrangement, when no such down payment was required by the collectors’ policies and procedures. For mortgage origination, CFPB examiners focused on compliance with provisions of CFPB’s Title XIV rules, the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), as implemented by Regulation Z, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), as implemented by Regulation X, disclosure provisions, and other applicable consumer financial laws. According to the report, CFPB examiners found that one or more institutions violated TILA by miscalculating loan financing amounts, which resulted in a negative finance charge and an amount financed that was greater than the stated loan amount. The report also highlights (i) violations of RESPA’s prohibition against improper referral arrangements; (ii) failure to implement policies and procedures and to provide sufficient training related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s requirement to provide consumers with notice of any adverse action, such as denial of credit; (iii) failure to properly disclose interest on interest-only loans in violation of TILA; and (iv) weak oversight of compliance management systems. In the area of small dollar lending, CFPB examiners assessed compliance with the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E), and found that the installment loan agreements of one or more entities failed to set out an acceptable range of amounts to be debited because they contained ambiguous or undefined terms in their descriptions of the upper and lower limits of the range. Finally, regarding fair lending, the report covers violations relating to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (Regulation C) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B).
According to the report, the CFPB’s supervisory resolutions from January 2016 through April 2016 resulted in more than 257,000 consumers receiving approximately $24.5 million in restitution.
CFPB Amends Annual Dollar Thresholds in TILA Regulations
On June 17, the CFPB announced that it adjusted dollar threshold amounts for provisions in Regulation Z, which implements TILA, under the CARD Act, HOEPA, and the Dodd-Frank Act. The CFPB is required to make adjustments based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index effective June 1, 2016. For 2017, the minimum interest charge will remain $27 for the first late payment and the subsequent violation penalty safe harbor fee for 2016 was amended to $38 for the remainder of 2016 and all of 2017. The CFPB is increasing the combined points and fees trigger-threshold for compliance with HOEPA to $1,029, and the amount threshold for high-cost mortgages in 2017 will be $20,579. To satisfy the underwriting requirements under the ATR/QM rule, a covered transaction will not be considered a QM unless the combined points and fees do not exceed 3% of the total loan amount for a loan greater than or equal to $102,894; $3,087 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $61,737 but less than $102,894; 5% of the total loan amount for a loan greater than or equal to $20,579 but less than $61,737; $1,029 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $12,862 but less than $20,579; and 8% of the total loan amount for a loan amount less than $12,862. The final rule is effective January 1, 2017, except that the amendment to the subsequent violation penalty safe harbor fee amount of $38 for the remainder of 2016 takes effect upon Federal Register publication.
FTC Submits Annual Report on 2015 Enforcement Actions to CFPB
On June 6, the FTC announced that it submitted its 2015 Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report to the CFPB. The report covers the FTC’s enforcement activities related to compliance with Regulation Z (TILA), Regulation M (Consumer Leasing Act or CLA), and Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfer Act or EFTA), as well as the FTC’s related activities in rulemaking, research, policy development, and consumer/business education related to TILA. According to the report, the FTC’s enforcement efforts in 2015 concerning TILA involved mortgage-related credit and non-mortgage credit, including automobile purchases and financing, car title loans, payday lending, and consumer electronics financing. Regarding mortgage-related credit activity, the report highlights continued litigation involving mortgage assistance relief services/forensic audit scams: “[i]n these scams, mortgage assistance relief providers offer, for a substantial fee, to review or audit the mortgage documents of distressed homeowners to identify violations of TILA, Regulation Z, and other federal laws.” The report further noted that under Regulation M and as part of the FTC’s Operation Ruse Control sweep on the auto industry, the FTC issued five final administrative consent orders and one consent agreement for public comment. Finally, regarding the FTC’s enforcement activities related to compliance with the EFTA, the report states that four of the FTC’s seven cases involving the EFTA in 2015 arose in the context of “negative option” plans, where consumers agreed to a trial period in which they received certain goods or services for no additional charge or at a reduced price, but later incurred recurring charges due to failure to cancel before the trial period ended.
CSBS and Multi-State Mortgage Committee Report on 2015 Supervisory Efforts
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the Multi-State Mortgage Committee (MMC) issued a report to state regulators regarding its 2015 review of the supervisory structure around examination and risk assessment of non-bank mortgage loan servicers. Notable servicing examination findings outlined in the report include: (i) violations and deficiencies related to loan transfer activity, noting that a “significant portion of servicing examination findings are tied to the mortgage servicing requirements implemented into the [RESPA] and [TILA] in January of 2014”; (ii) ineffective oversight of sub-servicer activity and insufficient third party vendor management; and (iii) ineffective examination management procedures on the part of mortgage servicers, leading to delayed examination processes, as well as impeded regulatory oversight. The report further outlines origination examination findings, emphasizing RESPA violations related to Mortgage Servicing Agreements (MSAs) which typically include payments for promotional advertising services performed on behalf of the mortgage company. According to the MMC, MSA-related violations carry high risk. Additional MMC 2015 observations outlined in the report include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) state license engagement of third party providers overseen by federal regulators resulted in an increase of state/federal communications and information sharing, fostering a stronger regulatory framework; (ii) lapses in loan originator education may lead to significant deficiencies at the company level; (iii) whistleblower information provided to the MMC in 2015 played a large role in uncovering prohibited activity; and (iv) technological systems with incorrect programming continue to cause lenders to charge borrowers statutorily prohibited fees. Finally, the report briefly touches on the CSBS’ and the NMLS’s Mortgage Call Report Analytics Tool – designed to provide detailed information about the loan portfolio and financial condition of a company – and the State Coordinating Committee’s coordinated efforts with the CFPB to include the development of the Coordinated Examination Guidance tool, which is intended to provide “suggested best practices for coordinated examinations and a step-by-step listing of action items to be completed during a coordinated examination.”