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CFPB ADVISORY OPINIONS

On November 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its Advisory Opinions Policy, which sets forth procedures to facilitate the submission by interested parties of requests that the CFPB issue advisory opinions, in the form of interpretive rules, to resolve regulatory uncertainty, and the manner in which the Bureau will evaluate and respond to such requests. The CFPB also released its first Advisory Opinions that clarify the following Regulation Z issues: Private Education […]

CFPB SETTLES NINTH AND FINAL VA CONSENT DECREE

On October 26, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a consent order against Low VA Rates LLC (Low VA Rates) to address the CFPB’s finding that Low VA Rates sent consumers mailers for mortgage loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that contained false, misleading, and inaccurate statements. Low VA Rates’ conduct violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s (CFPA) prohibition against deceptive acts and practices, the Mortgage Acts and Practices […]

CFPB PUBLISHES NPRM ON SEASONED QM LOAN

On August 18, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that creates a new category of Qualified Mortgage (QM), a seasoned QM (Seasoned QM), for first-lien, fixed-rate covered transactions that have met certain performance requirements over a 36-month seasoning period, are held in portfolio until the end of the seasoning period, comply with general restrictions on product features and points and fees, and meet certain underwriting requirements. The […]

CFPB ADJUSTS REGULATION Z THRESHOLDS

On July 21, 2020 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) began the annual process of updating regulatory thresholds by publishing a final rule revising certain dollar amounts in Regulation Z, based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in effect on June 1, 2020. For open-end consumer credit plans under the CARD Act amendments to TILA ( 1026.52(b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B)), the adjusted dollar amount in 2021 for the safe harbor for […]

CFPB ISSUES NPRM ON HPML ESCROW EXEMPTION

On July 2, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, as mandated by section 108 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA). The amendments would exempt certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions from the requirement to establish escrow accounts for certain higher-priced mortgage loans. In the 2018 EGRRCPA, Congress required the […]