While banks must be prudent and follow applicable regulations, the latest guidelines from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency may allow banks to justify a nuanced asset dissipation or depletion underwriting program, so long as it is backed by analysis. On July 23, 2019, the OCC issued a bulletin reminding its regulated institutions to use safe and sound banking practices when underwriting a residential mortgage loan based on the applicant’s assets. While the…

On July 25th, the CFPB announced plans to allow the temporary Qualified Mortgage (QM) status given to loans eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (the GSEs) to expire. However, the agency stated it could allow a short extension past the January 10, 2021 expiration date, and is in any case soliciting public comments on the general QM definition, including its income and debt documentation requirements. When the CFPB issued its Ability-to-Repay/QM Rule…

Lauren B. Pryor, a co-leader of Mayer Brown’s Financial Institutions Mergers & Acquisitions group, has been named to HousingWire’s list of 2019 Rising Stars, which highlights 50 individuals who represent an up-and-coming generation of innovative leaders in the #mortgage industry. Read more in Mayer Brown’s news feed, here.…

The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a bill to address the underwriting difficulties and resulting lack of access to mortgage credit for self-employed borrowers and others with nontraditional income sources. Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL) and Tom Emmer (R-MN) introduced H.R. 2445, a House companion to the Senate bill recently re-introduced by Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Mark Warner (D-VA). H.R. 2445 calls itself the “Self-Employed Mortgage Access Act of 2019,” although its effects…

On April 29, 2019, New Jersey joined a growing number of states that license mortgage loan servicers when Governor Phil Murphy signed the Mortgage Servicers Licensing Act, to be effective in July 2019. Mayer Brown’s latest Legal Update discusses implications for mortgage servicers, including new licensing requirements, certain exemptions, and the Act’s relationship to federal requirements. Read more in Mayer Brown’s Legal Update.…

Just two months after financial institutions submitted their so-called “new” data as required under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering whether to eliminate or revise the requirement to collect and report those new data elements, and whether to change the requirements to report certain business- or commercial-purpose transactions. Specifically, the CFPB issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on May 8, 2019, asking the public for…