Today, the CFPB issued a letter to various industry trade groups, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association, and the Independent Community Bankers of America,  acknowledging that the implementation of the “Know Before You Owe” rule  (otherwise known as “TRID”) poses many “operational challenges.”   Many financial institutions and industry participants do not have the capability of minimizing compliance risk by bringing all operations in-house the way some of the large financial institutions…

On February 16, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Consent Order relating to certain “deceptive” acts and practices of Dwolla, Inc., an Iowa based payment processor (Dwolla). Dwolla operates a software platform that enables “real time” funds transfers through a digital network that connects banks and credit unions. According to the CFPB, Dwolla had more than 650,000 users and transferred as much as $5 million a day as of May, 2015. The…

On December 18, 2015, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC, together with the FRB and the OCC, the “Banking Agencies”) issued the Interagency Statement on Prudent Risk Management for Commercial Real Estate Lending (“Interagency CRE Statement”) To review the Interagency CRE Statement, click here. The Interagency CRE Statement reminds financial institutions to…

The CFPB issued a final rule changing Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) today. This is significant because HMDA requires certain institutions to collect, report, and disclose information about their mortgage lending activity. The CFPB and other banking regulators will use the reported data to determine whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities, and to identify potentially discriminatory lending patterns so that the CFPB can enforce anti-discrimination…

On Wednesday, October 7th, the House voted to pass the Homebuyers Assistance Act, a bill that would delay enforcement of the new TRID rules that went into effect on October 3. The Homebuyers Assistance Act would shield lenders from private litigation as well as regulatory enforcement actions until February 1, 2016, so long as such lender has made a good faith effort to comply with the rules.…

On September 21, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“the CFPB”) finalized several changes to the mortgage rules that impact community banks and credit unions. The CFPB proposed these rules in January to help smaller banks and credit unions lend in rural and underserved areas. The effective date for this proposed rule (with additional clarifications and technical revisions) is January 1, 2016. To access the rule, click here. Ability-to-Repay Rule In 2013, the CFPB…