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PROPOSED REVISONS TO REGULATION Z – DISCOUNT POINTS

This is the fourth part of a five part series that explores issues related to discount points. The previous article considered how unearned discount points could result in fair lending violations. This part provides a glimpse of how changes to Regulation Z will change how discount points are handled in the future. On August 17, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed two revisions to Regulation Z to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act […]

WHAT’S UP WITH DISCOUNT POINTS

Discount points have been in the news recently. A recent article from the Federal Reserve citied possible UDAAP and Fair Lending violations resulting from unearned discount points. Revisions to Regulation Z, emanating from the Dodd-Frank Act, change the whole game with points. So why the current emphasis on the age-old practice of charging points? Discount Points Primer – Many lenders offer borrowers the option of obtaining a lower interest rate on a mortgage loan by paying […]

MORE ON TESTING INTEGRATED MORTGAGE LOAN DISCLOSURES

Following our recent article about testing the integrated mortgage disclosure forms we received several inquiries requesting more information about the process, particularly about submitting a comment. This article responds to those requests. The Issue – The volume of changes from the Dodd-Frank Act that are currently unfolding is daunting. Over 2,400 pages of proposed regulations have been published in just the past two months alone. A huge bank can assign a team to the task of […]

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: TEST INTEGRATED MORTGAGE LOAN DISCLOSURES

The volume of changes from the Dodd-Frank Act that are currently unfolding is daunting. Based on the numerous complaints about the GFE and the HUD-1 I have fielded over the past 30 months, the issue of greatest concern may be the new integrated mortgage loan disclosures. The proposed rule for the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure covers 1,099 pages. Reading the proposal, gaining an understanding of the requirements, and trying your hand at completing the […]

DOES THE CFPB REALLY WANT COMMENTS FROM COMMUNITY BANKERS?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has cranked out more than 2,400 pages of new proposed regulations since July 9th. That is a lot to review in a short period of time. Let’s put this into context. The CFPB had two hours to draft each page starting from the date the Dodd-Frank Act became law. If you give the CFPB the benefit of the doubt and don’t start counting days until July 21, 2011, when […]