Archive

REGULATION Z – THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT

Over the next six months Regulation Z will undergo the most extensive revisions in its 43 year history. The rules will primarily impact mortgage loan rules, for both open-end and closed-end credit. For mortgage loan disclosures, it will be the end of the world as we know it and the beginning of a brave new world of Regulation Z. Following is a summary of each piece of the revision process. Ability to Repay– A final […]

CFPB DELAYS ABILITY TO REPAY RULE

On May 31st the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is seeking additional public comment on new data and information that it has received in a rulemaking to require lenders to revise Regulation Z to assess consumers’ ability to repay mortgage loans before extending them credit. The latest comment period will close on July 9, 2012. The CFPB is a new agency so we need to cut them a little slack. What the […]

APPRAISAL SURVEY

Section 1026.41(f) of Regulation Z states, “The creditor and its agents shall compensate a fee appraiser for performing appraisal services at a rate that is customary and reasonable for comparable appraisal services performed in the geographic market of the property being appraised.” To assure the appraisal fee is “customary and reasonable” the creditor may either conduct its own appraiser survey or obtain a survey from a third party. In the past, several companies offer their […]

CFPB – A CONTINUATION OF THE SAME OLD STORY

It is not that often that a new federal financial institution regulatory agency is created, but when it happens one can only hope for something better than what existed before. But the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continues to disappoint. The latest disappointment is relatively minor. In their regulatory agenda published last fall the CFPB stated that final rules revising Regulation Z provisions dealing with the borrower’s ability to repay would be published in April […]

PROPOSED REG Z REVISION – CREDIT CARD FEE LIMIT

Issue – The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is proposing to amend Regulation Z. Regulation Z generally limits the total amount of fees that a credit card issuer may require a consumer to pay with respect to an account, limiting fees to 25 percent of the credit limit in effect when the account is opened. Regulation Z currently states that this limitation applies prior to account opening and during the first year after account […]