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GSEs Release Redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application
On August 23, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSEs) published a redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA), the first substantial update to the standardized form used by borrowers applying for a residential loan in more than 20 years. The GSEs also released a redesigned Uniform Loan Application Dataset (ULAD) Mapping Document, used to “ensure consistency of data delivery.” The GSEs revised the URLA and ULAD by (i) redesigning the format to support better efficiency and more accurate data collection; (ii) including new and updated fields intended to “[c]apture loan application details that reflect today’s mortgage lending business and support both the GSEs’ and government requirements”; (iii) simplifying instructions; and (iv) incorporating revised HMDA demographic questions. The GSEs released FAQs about the redesigned URLA and ULAD, which will be available for lender use beginning January 1, 2018. Among other things, the FAQs note that (i) the GSEs will continue to support the URLA in paper form; and (ii) updates to the published documents may be required as a result of the CFPB’s review of the redesigned URLA in connection with the Regulation B safe harbor.
FHFA Announces New Refinance Offering for High LTV Borrowers; Extends HARP through September 2017
On August 25, FHFA announced that the GSEs will implement a new refinancing offering for borrowers having high LTVs who meet certain criteria. The new offering contains a number of similarities to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), including not subjecting eligible borrowers to a minimum credit score, not establishing a maximum debt-to-income ratio or maximum LTV, and often not requiring an appraisal. Dissimilarities from HARP include not imposing eligibility cut-off dates and allowing borrowers to use the offering more than once to refinance their mortgage. Borrowers will not have access to the new offering until October 2017. As such, the FHFA directed the GSEs to extend HARP through September 30, 2017, ensuring that “high LTV borrowers who are eligible for HARP will not be without a refinance option while the new refinance offering is being implemented."
FinCEN Issues Proposed Rule to Remove AML Exemption for Certain Banks
On August 26, FinCEN published a proposed rule that seeks to impose AML program requirements on banks that are without a Federal functional regulator, including, but not limited to, private banks, non-federally insured credit unions, and certain trust companies. FinCEN estimates that there are 740 such banks nationwide. The proposal would establish minimum AML program standards for such banks. In addition, if finalized, the proposed rule would expand the reach of FinCEN’s customer due diligence final rule to cover banks that are not already subject to the rule’s customer identification program requirements and beneficial ownership requirements. FinCEN issued the proposal to ensure that Bank Secrecy Act coverage is consistent across the industry. Comments on the proposal must be submitted to FinCEN by October 24, 2016.
Thomas Ott Named FinCEN's Associate Director of Enforcement
On August 16, FinCEN named Thomas P. Ott Associate Director for FinCEN’s Enforcement Division. In his new role, Ott will oversee the agency’s Bank Secrecy Act compliance and enforcement program. Ott’s responsibilities will include “developing and implementing compliance and enforcement strategies, supervising investigations, enforcement actions, and other activities that have industry-wide, national, and international impact.” Ott has served as FinCEN’s Acting Associate Director of Enforcement since March 2016.
Massachusetts AG and Division of Banks Seek Input on Debt Collection and Industry Regulation
On September 22, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (the Division) and AG Healey’s office will host an informational session to discuss the current state of debt collection and industry regulation in Massachusetts. The Division and AG Healey seek responses to questions regarding how the debt collection industry has changed in recent years; the industry’s organizational structure; licensing requirements for debt collectors and debt buyers; law firm involvement in debt collection activities; notification requirements regarding whether a debt has been sold; debt collection issues, including litigation-related problems, that consumers and industry members face; and how changes in federal laws and regulations governing debt collection practices should be reflected in Massachusetts’s regulations. Written responses and comments to the Division are due by October 21, 2016.
Special Alert: Department of Defense Issues Interpretive Rule Regarding Compliance with the Military Lending Act
Today, the Department of Defense (“DoD” or “Department”) published in the Federal Register an interpretive rule regarding compliance with its July 2015 amendments to the regulations implementing the Military Lending Act (“MLA”). The July 2015 amendments will extend the MLA’s 36% military annual percentage rate (“MAPR”) cap, ban on mandatory arbitration, and other limitations to a wider range of credit products—including open-end credit—offered or extended to active duty service members and their dependents (“covered borrowers”). Compliance is mandatory beginning on October 3, 2016, except that credit card issuers have until October 3, 2017 to comply. Additional BuckleySandler materials on the MLA amendments are available here, here, and here.
DoD stated that the interpretive rule “does not substantively change the [July 2015] regulation implementing the MLA, but rather merely states the Department’s preexisting interpretations of an existing regulation” and thus is effective immediately upon publication. The DoD also emphasized that the guidance provided in the rule “represent[s] official interpretations of the Department….”
Click here to view the full Special Alert.
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Questions regarding the matters discussed in this Alert may be directed to any of our lawyers listed below, or to any other BuckleySandler attorney with whom you have consulted in the past.
- Valerie L. Hletko, (202) 349-8054
- Manley Williams, (202) 349-8060
- Sasha Leonhardt, (202) 349-7971
- Andrew W. Grant, (202) 349-8056
CFPB Publishes Report on Student Loan Complaints, Issues Income-Driven Repayment Fix It Form
On August 18, the CFPB published a report to provide a midyear update on student loan complaints, focusing on “problems for borrowers who submit an application to enroll in or recertify income and family size under an income-driven-repayment (IDR) plan.” The report analyzes student borrower complaints related to IDR plans and offers recommendations to “address the challenges identified in [those] complaints.” The report analyzes complaints submitted from October 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016 and finds that “borrowers encounter obstacles when submitting applications for IDR plans, including poor customer service, unexpected delays, lost paperwork, and inconsistent or inaccurate application processing.” The CFPB recommends that student loan servicers take “immediate action” to address challenges with IDR processing, highlighting the policy guidance recently issued by the Department of Education as a “roadmap to strengthen practices related to the handling of IDR applications” and releasing an IDR Application Fix It Form (Fix It Form). Developed by the CFPB, the Fix It Form is a prototype that can be adopted by servicers seeking to adopt the recommendations in the report and is designed to “document[] any deficiencies with borrowers’ IDR applications and communicates to borrowers about how to address the deficiencies and get their applications back on track.”
Federal Banking Agencies Disclose Reported 2015 CRA Lending Data
On August 18, the OCC, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve announced the availability of a 2015 data fact sheet on small business, small farm, and community development lending as reported by certain commercial banks and savings associations pursuant to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Less comprehensive than the data reported pursuant to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the CRA data includes the number and dollar amount of community development loans and small business and small farm loans originated or purchased. It also indicates whether a small business or farm loan is extended to a borrower with yearly revenues of $1 million or less and combines those loans into three categories based on size, which are reported at a census tract level. CRA data does not cover loan applications that were denied or applicant demographic information, and it is not completed on a loan-by-loan basis. According to the data fact sheet, “caution should be used in drawing conclusions from analyses using only CRA data, as differences in loan volume across areas may reflect differences in local demand for credit.”
FTC Orders Auto Dealers to Pay $85,000 Civil Penalty over Allegedly Deceptive Advertising Practices
On August 18, the FTC announced that three Texas-based auto dealers will pay an $85,000 civil penalty to resolve allegations that they violated a 2014 administrative order prohibiting them from deceptively advertising the cost of buying or leasing a car. The FTC complaint alleges, among other things, that since receiving the 2014 order, the auto dealers frequently misrepresented offers to finance or lease motor vehicles by “focusing only on a few attractive items, such as a low monthly payment or annual percentage rate, while concealing material terms that add significant extra costs or that limit who can qualify for the advertised prices.” In addition to the $85,000 civil penalty, the proposed consent order bars the defendants from (i) deceptively advertising a vehicle’s cost of purchase with financing, the cost of leasing, or any other material fact regarding price, sale, financing or leasing; (ii) misrepresenting who is likely to receive financing or leasing and who qualifies for specific finance or lease terms; and (iii) violating the Truth in Lending Act’s and the Consumer Leasing Act’s requirements to clearly and conspicuously disclose credit and lease terms.
State Attorneys General Issue Letter in Support of CFPB's Proposed Arbitration Rule
On August 12, Massachusetts AG Healey, alongside 17 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to CFPB Director Cordray in support of the agency’s proposed rule seeking to impose restrictions on the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses by covered providers of certain consumer financial products and services. Although the letter supports the CFPB’s proposed rule, it encourages the CFPB to consider regulations that would prohibit such clauses outright. According to the letter, class action litigation would provide consumers with “real and meaningful benefits,” such as monetary and injunctive relief through settlements, and may further spur industry-wide reforms as well as regulatory and legislative action. The letter further supports the CFPB’s “effort to increase transparency in the arbitration process by requiring covered entities to submit initial claim filings and written awards in arbitration proceedings to the Bureau,” and encourages the agency to (i) publish the information publicly on its website; (ii) enforce timing obligations for reporting the information; and (iii) establish strict penalties, including fines and loss of arbitration privileges, against entities that do not comply with the reporting requirements.