Good news from the Government for a change. Yesterday, October 22, 2018, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revised its requirements for lenders submitting Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loans that have reached 98% of their maximum claim amounts. FHA-approved HECM servicers can now use more easily accessible supporting documentation to get their claims paid faster. The new requirements were announced in FHA Mortgagee Letter 2018-08. The requirements became effective yesterday, but…

On October 17, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“BCFP” or “Bureau”) issued its Fall  2018 regulatory agenda.  Notable highlights include: Payday Lending Rule Amendments. In January 2018, the Bureau announced that it would engage in rulemaking to reconsider its Payday Lending Rule released in October 2017.  According to the Bureau’s Fall 2018 agenda, the Bureau expects to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking by January 2019 that will address both the merits and…

The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) gathers for its 2018 Annual Meeting in Marina del Rey, California on October  21 – 24. Mayer Brown partner Jon Jaffe, of the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Enforcement Group, will present for the AFSA Law Committee on Mortgage Lending – Hot Topics. He also will help coordinate a roundtable discussion on Privacy and Security.…

Federal redlining enforcement has waned in recent years, but redlining risk has not disappeared.  On October 4, two consumer advocacy groups, the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, filed a law suit accusing a Connecticut-based bank of unlawful discrimination against minority homebuyers. The suit alleges that Liberty Bank, a state-chartered bank headquartered in Connecticut, violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in “redlining,” a term that refers to the practice of…

New California legislation will impose disclosure requirements, similar to those under the federal Truth in Lending Act, on commercial-purpose loans of $500,000 or less, including arrangements such as factoring, merchant cash advances, and certain assignments of accounts and receivables. The disclosures will generally include the total cost of the financing, expressed both as a dollar amount and an annualized rate, with variations applicable to different types of transactions. While the requirements will not apply to…

Last week the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“BCFP” or “Bureau”) issued guidance on the operations of financial institutions and other supervised entities in the wake of major disasters and emergencies. The guidance explains that supervised entities have flexibility under the existing regulatory framework to take action that could benefit affected consumers. This is not the first time the Bureau has issued guidance on this topic. Last year, the Bureau released a statement on Hurricanes …

Kris Kully, of Mayer Brown’s Financial Services and Regulatory Enforcement group, will speak to credit union mortgage lenders at the 22nd Annual Conference of the American Credit Union Mortgage Association (ACUMA) in Las Vegas. On September 24th, she will lead a discussion regarding Communication and Compliance, addressing many principles to keep in mind as your credit union reaches out to members, realtors, and others in offering mortgage loans. Later that day, she will lead…