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Federal Court Dismisses FCA Claims Against Bank's Outside Directors
On January 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that a relator failed to support allegations that the outside directors of a failed bank misrepresented to the FDIC the quality of the bank’s collateral on real estate loans, and dismissed those claims. U.S. v. Veluchamy, No. 11-4458, 2014 WL 51398 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 3, 2014). The relator alleges that the outside directors, as well as bank managers and employees and the bank’s appraisal company, violated the False Claims Act by engaging in a scheme to defraud the FDIC by misrepresenting the loan-to-value ratios for real estate lending and submitting fraudulent Call Reports based on overvalued appraisals. The court held that the bank’s outside directors were not shown to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the bank, and that the relator failed to demonstrate the directors had knowledge of or contributed to the alleged scheme. The court denied motions to dismiss filed by the other defendants. The court also held that the relator’s claims were not barred by prior public disclosure of the allegations. The court explained that a Material Loss Review issued by the FDIC’s inspector general following the bank’s failure did not include “critical elements” of the relator’s fraud claims, and that a prior state court employment case filed against the bank by the relator also did not reveal essential elements of the current claims.
FDIC Responds To Concerns Over Bank Formations, Need For De Novo Policy Changes
On December 30, the FDIC responded to a recent joint letter from the AABD and ICBA expressing concern with the lack of new bank charters and proposing policy reforms to encourage more de novo applications. As the trade groups pointed out, the FDIC has only approved deposit insurance for one de novo bank since 2011, a dramatic shift from many years of de novo bank formation averaging over 170 per year. FDIC Director Doreen Eberley acknowledged the concern, but defended FDIC policy and cited cyclical conditions as a potential explanation for the current situation rather than any FDIC policy change. Ms. Eberley reasserted the FDIC’s commitment to assisting with potential de novo community bank formations.
Bank Obtains Dismissal Of Surviving Heir's Reverse Mortgage Class Action
On January 3, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed with prejudice a putative class action alleging a bank breached its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Deed of Trust and HUD regulations by failing to provide a surviving heir notice and opportunity to purchase the property at 95 percent of its appraised value. Chandler v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 11-3831, 2014 WL 31315 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 3, 2014). The court held that the plain language of the deed does not require such notice, in part because the relevant section of the deed that requires the lender to provide notice when the loan becomes due and payable and an option to purchase the property for 95 percent of its appraised value prior to foreclosure (i) specifically does not include as a triggering event the death of the borrower, and (ii) grants rights to the borrower, not the borrower’s heirs. The court also rejected the heir’s claims that HUD regulations required the same notice and opportunity to purchase. The court held that the HUD regulations were not incorporated into the deed, and, even if they were and could be read to allow an heir to take advantage of the 95 percent rule, the applicable HUD interpretation of those regulations at the time required full payment of the debt.
North Carolina Regulator Issues Guidance On New Service Contracts Sales Tax
Recently, the North Carolina Department of Revenue issued guidance regarding a new state law that imposes the state’s 4.75% general sales and use tax, as well as applicable local and transit sales and use tax rates, to the sales price of “service contracts.” The law applies to “service contracts” sold at retail by a retailer on or after January 1, 2014 and sourced to North Carolina. “Service contract” includes any warranty agreement, maintenance agreement, repair contract, or similar agreement or contract by which a seller agrees to maintain or repair tangible personal property. The guidance addresses retailer liability, stating that a retailer that sells a covered service contract is liable for the sales and use tax due on the transaction. Further, a retailer that authorizes another person to sell or enter into a covered service contract with a purchaser on behalf of the retailer is encouraged to ensure that any agreement between the parties provides that any sales and use tax collected on the sales price of a service contract must be submitted to the retailer to be remitted to the Revenue Department. A retailer is not relieved of its liability for sales and use tax on the retail sale of a covered service contract due to failure by another person to collect or remit the applicable sales and use tax due on the sale to the retailer of the contract. The guidance also addresses (i) sales and use tax applicable to receipts for certain contracts entered into prior to January 1; (ii) sourcing of service contracts; and (iii) cancellation or refund of a service contract.
CFPB Director Discusses Enforcement Against Individuals
On January 8, in a Daily Show interview, CFPB Director Richard Cordray discussed with host Jon Stewart some of the Bureau’s efforts to date, including implementation of the CFPB’s mortgage rules and the Bureau's credit card add-on product enforcement actions. Director Cordray added that the Bureau will continue to take enforcement actions against individual officers and employees responsible for company wrongdoing, including by imposing officer-director bans, seeking disgorgement, and referring matters for criminal investigation. “There’s always officials and people in the company that make the decisions. So going after them for money, making them feel at risk, sometimes going after them to take them out of the business for a period of time, or referring them criminally if that is appropriate, that’s part of what we’re doing,” Cordray stated.
These comments mirror statements Director Cordray made last year, in which he cautioned that “[i]ndividuals need to know they’re at risk when they do bad things under the umbrella of a company.” The agency has already pursued individuals in several enforcement actions, and Director Cordray’s remarks suggest the Bureau will continue to devote resources toward investigating individual involvement in alleged company misconduct, along with the entities themselves.
CFPB Announces Mortgage Servicing Rule Training Event, Releases Borrower Resources
This Friday, January 10, the CFPB will host a training event in Phoenix, Arizona for housing counselors, legal aid attorneys, and other advocates about the new mortgage servicing rules taking effect on that date. The event—which will include an in-depth training presentation and feature remarks from CFPB Director Richard Cordray—follows the CFPB’s release of new resources intended to boost awareness of and educate the public about the new consumer protections provided by the rules. The new consumer resources include:
- Sample letters for consumer use related to topics such as information requests and error corrections;
- Mortgage tips for homebuyers, homeowners, and borrowers facing foreclosure;
- A database of answers to mortgage-related questions generated through AskCFPB, an interactive online tool for consumers;
- Online tools for consumers to locate housing counseling agencies in their area and to submit complaints online;
- Factsheets covering new consumer protections provided for under the rules and access to foreclosure avoidance options; and
- A reference guide for housing counselors and others that interact with consumers entitled to new federal protections.
A live broadcast of the event—Protecting Homeowners: New Tools for Empowering Consumers and Advocates—will be available on consumerfinance.gov at 1:00 PM EST.
CFPB Seeks Information On Mortgage Closing "Pain Points"
On January 2, the CFPB issued a request for information about “key consumer ‘pain points’ associated with mortgage closing and how those pain points might be addressed by market innovations and technology.” The request includes 17 specific questions about the closing process, common errors at closing, the role of “other parties” at closing, and closing documents. The CFPB stated that the request is part of the next phase of its Know Before You Owe initiative in which the CFPB will “encourage interventions that increase consumer knowledge, understanding, and confidence at closing.” In particular, the CFPB seeks to promote “the development of a more streamlined, efficient, and educational closing process as the mortgage industry increases its usage of technology, electronic signatures, and paperless processes.” The CFPB first announced this initiative in November 2013 in conjunction with the release of the final rule combining mortgage disclosures under TILA and RESPA. Responses to the request are due by February 7, 2014.
DOJ Alleges Community Bank's Unsecured Loan Pricing Violated ECOA
Last month, the DOJ announced a settlement with a three-branch, $78 million Texas bank to resolve allegations that the bank engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of national origin in the pricing of unsecured consumer loans. Based on its own investigation and an examination conducted by the FDIC, the DOJ alleged that the bank violated ECOA by allowing employees “broad subjective discretion” in setting interest rates for unsecured loans, which allegedly resulted in Hispanic borrowers being charged rates that, after accounting for relevant loan and borrower credit factors, were on average 100-228 basis points higher than rates charged to similarly situated non-Hispanic borrowers. The DOJ claimed that “[a]lthough information as to each applicant's national origin was not solicited or noted in loan applications, such information was known to the Bank's loan officers, who personally handled each loan transaction.”
The consent order requires the bank to establish a $159,000 fund to compensate borrowers who may have suffered harm as a result of the alleged ECOA violations. Prior to the settlement, the bank implemented uniform pricing policies that substantially reduced loan officer discretion to vary a loan’s interest rate. The agreement requires the bank to continue implementing the uniform pricing policy and to (i) create a compliance monitoring program, (ii) provide borrower notices of non-discrimination, (iii) conduct employee training, and (iv) establish a complaint resolution program to address consumer complaints alleging discrimination regarding loans originated by the bank. The requirements apply not only to unsecured consumer loans, but also to mortgage loans, automobile financing, and home improvement loans.
The action is similar to another fair lending matter referred by the FDIC and settled by the DOJ earlier in 2013, which also involved a Texas community bank that allegedly discriminated on the basis of national origin in its pricing of unsecured loans.
Prudential Regulators Announce Coordinated Action Against Technology Service Provider
Recently, the OCC released a formal agreement it entered with the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and a banking software company to resolve allegations of unsafe and unsound practices relating to the software company’s disaster recovery and business continuity planning and processes. The action reportedly resulted from the third-party service provider’s (TSP) delay in reestablishing full operations at a processing center in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The agreement requires the TSP to continue to maintain a compliance committee, which must submit quarterly written reports to the TSP’s board. The agreement also details minimum requirements for (i) an enhanced disaster recovery and business continuity planning (DR/BCP) process; and (ii) a DR/BCP risk management program and audit process. The agreement also reaffirms the TSP board’s responsibility for proper and sound management of the TSP. The action demonstrates the OCC’s and other federal authorities’ continued focus on third-party service providers. While in this instance the regulators employed the Bank Services Company Act to directly address concerns about a TSP, recent Federal Reserve Board and OCC guidance also focuses on financial institutions’ responsibilities with regard to managing risks related to third parties’ disaster recovery and business continuity.
Federal Reserve Board Announces Consumer Division Director's Retirement
On January 3, the Federal Reserve Board announced that Sandra Braunstein, the director of the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, will retire on April 1, 2014. Ms. Braunstein has led the division for 10 years, part of her nearly 27 years of service with the Federal Reserve Board. During her time leading the division, the Federal Reserve developed a new regulatory framework for credit cards and established new regulatory protections for consumers in the residential mortgage market. Ms. Braunstein also oversaw the creation of mortgage foreclosure mitigation and neighborhood stabilization programs, and played a key role in the transition of division staff and resources to the CFPB.