Archive

EQUAL TREATMENT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIED COUPLES

On June 26, 2013, in United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has noted on its blog that the decision has important consequences for its work. In order to fully implement the decision, the CFPB has taken steps to clarify how the decision affects the rules for which the agency is responsible. Recently, CFPB Director Cordray issued a […]

CFPB REGULATORY PRIORITIES FROM THE SEMIANNUAL REGULATORY AGENDA

The CFPB’s regulatory priorities for the semiannual period ending October 31, 2014, include continuing work to implement Dodd-Frank Act mortgage protections, a series of rulemakings to address critical issues in other markets for consumer financial products and services, and following up on earlier efforts to streamline and modernize regulations that the CFPB has inherited from other Federal agencies.   Implementing Dodd-Frank Act Mortgage Protections A major effort of the CFPB is the implementation of its […]

IMPLEMENTING THE NEW INTEGRATED DISCLOSURES – Part II

As explained in the first part of this article implementing the new integrated disclosures is a massive task. Lenders that have a plan and get an early start on the process will complete the task by the August 1, 2015 deadline with minimal stress to all involved.  We advocate a three-step process for implementing the New disclosures. Master the Material – Mastering 1,888 pages of regulation and related material doesn’t happen quickly. Most of us […]

IMPLEMENTING THE NEW INTEGRATED DISCLOSURES – Part I

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published final rules to implement the new integrated disclosures on November 20, 2013. The rules complete the Dodd-Frank mandate to combine the disclosures required by the Truth-in-Lending (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedure Acts (RESPA). The regulations, the Official Interpretations and instructions for completing the forms are massive, covering 1,888 pages.   Have you begun the implementation process yet? You have until August 1, 2015 to complete the task, […]

PROPOSED TIL CHANGES – GOOD NEWS?

On April 30 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed changes to Regulation Z rules related to the small servicer exemption and to the qualified mortgage rules. The proposal is on a fast track, with a 30-day comment period. Small Servicer The proposed changes to the small servicer rules are nice. The CFPB proposes an alternative small servicer definition for nonprofit entities that meet certain requirements, and amend the existing exemption from the ability-to-repay rule […]