On November 20, 2017 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its most recent Official Approval of the redesigned Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) to include an applicant language preference question.
The first Official Approval of the URLA, which was issued by the CFPB on September 23, 2016:
• Clarified that the relevant language in the redesigned URLA is in compliance with the regulatory provisions of Regulation B § 1002.5(b) through (d), regarding requests for protected applicant-characteristic information and certain other information;
• Recognized that the use of the redesigned URLA by creditors is not required under Regulation B; and
• Stated that a creditor that uses the redesigned URLA without any modification that would violate § 1002.5(b) through (d) would act in compliance with § 1002.5(b) through (d).
The most recent Official Approval confirms that financial institutions’ use of the URLA, including the question identifying a mortgage applicant’s language preference, does not violate specific provisions of Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The relevant provisions of Regulation B generally limit creditor inquiries regarding certain information about applicants, including their race and national origin.
Read more about the revised URLA:
• FHFA Adds Language Preference Question to URLA – https://mycomplianceresource.com/fhfa-adds-language-preference-question-to-urla/
• URLA Implementation Timeline – https://mycomplianceresource.com/urla-implementation-timeline/
• Regulation B Final Rule – Monitoring Information – https://mycomplianceresource.com/regulation-b-final-rule-monitoring-information/
A copy of the most recent Official Approval is available at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_urla-language-preference-question_bureau-official-approval_112017.pdf
A copy of the revised URLA, with the language preference question is available at: https://www.fanniemae.com/content/guide_form/urla-static.pdf
