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CFPB Publishes Fall 2016 Rulemaking Agenda
On December 2, the CFPB published its Fall 2016 Statement of Regulatory Priorities, and its Fall 2016 rulemaking agenda, addressing current and future rulemakings in accordance with its obligations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. In its Agenda, the Bureau notes, among other things, that: (i) publication of a final Arbitration rule is expected in February 2017; (ii) the Bureau intends to finalize proposed amendments to TRID by March 2017; and (iii) the Bureau plans to release in March 2017 a proposed set of technical corrections to the HMDA reporting requirements and proposed amendments to Regulation B “to clarify how financial institutions and creditors subject to Regulation C and Regulation B may comply with both regulations.” There was no next step identified for the proposed rule on payday loans and deposit advance products.
In a corresponding blog post, the Bureau provided a brief status update and overview of its various rulemakings, which are grouped into pre-rule, proposed rule, final rule, long-term, and completed stages. The CFPB noted that it anticipates that the next “larger participant” rulemaking will focus on the markets for consumer installment loans and vehicle title loans, including whether to impose registration requirements on non-depository lenders.
ABA and CBA Lend Perspective on CFPB's Proposed TRID Revisions
On October 18, the American Banking Association (ABA) and Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) submitted a joint comment letter responding to a recent proposal by the CFPB seeking to codify informal guidance and clarifications to the Know Before Your Owe TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule. Of particular concern among lenders and investors was the lack of clarity about liability for unintentional mistakes and technical noncompliance with TRID. To help address these concerns, the Associations urged the CFPB to, among other things, (i) publish the specific statutory provisions it relied upon for each disclosure item or requirement identified in the recent proposal; (ii) grant a “safe harbor” for model forms issued by the bureau; (iii) grant an extension of the “good faith” compliance examination policy pending the CFPB’s proscribed deadlines for the proposed rules; and (iv) develop a formal process to address ongoing compliance and legal issues related to TRID.
The Associations also expressed appreciation for “the numerous amendments offered in th[e] proposal,” including those allowing corrected closing disclosures to reset applicable good faith tolerances for creditors. The Associations further explained that their “preliminary analysis reflects that this proposed rule will resolve multiple ambiguities that banks deem significant” and “urged that the bureau . . . allow for the correction of previous non-compliance caused by the interpretive ambiguity that the bureau is now fixing” (emphasis added).
CFPB Releases Updated TRID Compliance Guide
On October 12, the CFPB issued an updated version of its small entity compliance guide on the Know Before You Owe TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) Rule. The updated TRID compliance guide incorporates guidance from CFPB webinars on various topics, including (i) record retention; (ii) Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure requirements, including format and delivery; (iii) good faith standards and determinations; (iv) disclosures related to seller-paid costs; and (v) construction loans. The newly released TRID compliance guide replaces the CFPB’s July 2015 guide. The CFPB also issued a separate revised guide for completing the Loan Estimate and Disclosure forms.
Special Alert: CFPB Proposes Amendments to Know Before You Owe/TRID Rule
On Friday, the CFPB issued its much anticipated proposal to amend the KBYO/TRID rule. The CFPB crowded dozens of proposed changes into the almost 300 page proposal, most of which are highly technical and require careful examination. As the Bureau has signaled since its intention to issue amendments was first announced, the proposal is not intended “to revisit major policy decisions” because “[t]he Bureau is reluctant to entertain major changes that could involve substantial reprogramming of systems so soon after the October 2015 effective date or to otherwise distract from industry’s intense and very productive efforts to resolve outstanding implementation issues.” However, it has “proposed a handful of substantive changes where it has identified a potential discrete solution to a specific implementation challenge.”
If finalized, the amendments should resolve a number of significant ambiguities that have generated concerns about the liability of lenders and purchasers of mortgage loans and hampered loan sales, particularly the so-called “Black Hole” that can arise when closing is unexpectedly delayed. However, because it is unclear in most cases whether the Bureau intends the amendments to apply only prospectively and because the amendments would not alter the provisions for “curing” errors, these liability concerns will remain for loans originated prior to the effective date of the amendments. Furthermore, because the industry has been forced to make loans since October 2015 despite these ambiguities, it will be necessary in many cases to revise existing systems and practices to comply with the amended rule. Finally, in some cases, the Bureau seems to have gone beyond resolving ambiguities and is instead seeking to make targeted policy changes to the rule.
Although the proposed amendments are too voluminous and technical to be summarized comprehensively, we have highlighted a number of the more significant proposed changes below. Note that the CFPB specifically requested feedback on a number of the issues addressed in the proposal. Comments are due on or before October 18, 2016.
Click here to view the full Special Alert.
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Questions regarding the matters discussed in this Alert may be directed to any of our lawyers listed below, or to any other BuckleySandler attorney with whom you have consulted in the past.
- Clinton R. Rockwell, (310) 424-3901
- Jeffrey P. Naimon, (202) 349-8030
- John P. Kromer, (202) 349-8040
- Joseph M. Kolar, (202) 349-8020
- Jeremiah S. Buckley, (202) 349-8010
- Melissa Klimkiewicz, (202) 349-8098
- Kathryn L. Ryan, (202) 349-8008
- Steve vonBerg, (202) 524-7893
OCC Releases Semiannual Risk Perspective Report
On July 11, the OCC released its Semiannual Risk Perspective for Spring 2016, which generally provides an overview of supervisory concerns for the federal banking system and specifically presents data as of December 31, 2015 in the following areas: (i) operating environment; (ii) bank performance; (iii) key risk issues; and (iv) regulatory actions. Similar to the fall 2015 report, the current report identifies cybersecurity, third-party vendor management, business continuity planning, TRID, and BSA/AML compliance, among other things, as key areas of potential operational and compliance risk. Further, the report highlights the new Military Lending Act rule, effective October 3, 2016, as a new key potential risk. According to the report, the OCC’s supervisory priorities for the next twelve months will generally remain the same; moreover, the outlook for the OCC’s Large Bank Supervision and Midsize and Community Bank Supervision operating units will remain broadly similar.
CFPB Issues Spring 2016 Rulemaking Agenda
On May 18, the CFPB released an overview of its Spring 2016 Rulemaking Agenda, which outlines the CFPB’s current initiatives. In addition to summarizing the CFPB’s recently released proposed rule to ban pre-dispute arbitration clauses in future consumer agreements, the agenda states that the CFPB expects to release this Summer (i) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding small dollar loan products, including payday loans and auto title loan; (ii) a rule to finalize its November 2014 proposed rule on prepaid products; (iii) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to provide clarity concerning its TRID Know Before You Owe mortgage rule; and (iv) a final rule to amend its 2014 proposed rule revising certain provisions of mortgage servicing requirements under RESPA and TILA. The agenda further comments on the CFPB’s oversight of (i) overdraft services on checking accounts, noting that the agency “is engaged in pre-rule making activities to consider potential regulation” of such services; (ii) debt collection practices, observing that the agency is in the process of developing proposed rules to further regulate the industry; (iii) nonbank institutions, emphasizing the CFPB’s rulemaking efforts to further define larger participants of certain markets for consumer financial products and services; and (iv) mortgage markets, highlighting CFPB efforts to implement “critical consumer protections under the Dodd-Frank Act.” Finally, the agenda comments that the CFPB is in the “very early stages starting work to implement section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to report information concerning credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.”
Special Alert: CFPB Plans to Propose TRID Amendments in July
Director Cordray announced yesterday in a letter to industry trade groups that the CFPB has "begun drafting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Know Before You Owe Rule.” However, contrary to some reports, the proposal is not imminent. Instead, Director Cordray stated that the Bureau “hope[s] to issue the NPRM in late July,” which means that final amendments will likely come late in the year.
In addition, it does not appear that the CFPB is contemplating extensive changes to the rule. Instead, the letter states that the Bureau plans to “incorporat[e] some of the bureau’s existing informal guidance, whether provided through webinar, compliance guide, or otherwise, into the regulation text and commentary” and to address “places in the regulation text and commentary where adjustments would be useful for greater certainty and clarity.”
These amendments may be helpful insofar as they resolve ambiguities in the regulation and convert informal guidance into official interpretations that are binding on the CFPB and subject to a higher level of deference by the courts. It is not clear which issues the CFPB will address in the proposal or whether the Bureau will take up industry concerns about the limited ability of lenders to cure technical errors and the liability of purchasers of loans with such errors. However, Director Cordray did state that the Bureau “will arrange one or two meetings in late May or early June, but before the NPRM is issued, to discuss further with [the trade groups] the Know Before You Owe rule.”
For additional information and resources on the TRID rule, please visit our TRID Resource Center.
* * *
Questions regarding the matters discussed in this Alert may be directed to any of our lawyers listed below, or to any other BuckleySandler attorney with whom you have consulted in the past.
- Clinton R. Rockwell,(310) 424-3901
- Jeffrey P. Naimon, (202) 349-8030
- John P. Kromer, (202) 349-8040
- Joseph M. Kolar, (202) 349-8020
- Jeremiah S. Buckley, (202) 349-8010
- Amanda Lawrence, (202) 349-8089
- Melissa Klimkiewicz, (202) 349-8098
- Steven vonBerg, (202) 524-7893
Federal Register Publishes Correction to CFPB's KBYO Rule
On February 10, the CFPB published a correction to amend the preamble of the Know Before You Owe (KBYO) rule. Under the former RESPA rules, prepaid property taxes, HOA dues, condo fees, and co-op fees were not subject to tolerances, and the CFPB did not intend to modify that standard under KBYO. However, KBYO’s preamble was missing a “not” where it explained applicable tolerance limitations, which reinforced existing dialogue that the aforementioned fees were within the zero tolerance category. The CFPB’s recently issued correction amends KBYO’s preamble to include the formerly missing “not”: “The final rule also mirrors current Regulation X in that property insurance premiums, property taxes, homeowner’s association dues, condominium fees, and cooperative fees are not subject to tolerances whether or not they are placed into an escrow, impound, reserve, or similar account.” The publication further explains why the CFPB believes those fees are not subject to tolerances, noting “[p]roperty taxes, homeowner’s association dues, condominium fees, and cooperative fees are all ‘[c]harges paid for third-party servicers not required by the creditor.’” The correction is effective February 10, 2016.
FDIC Issues Winter 2015 Supervisory Insights
On February 1, the FDIC published its Winter 2015 issue of Supervisory Insights to promote sound principles and practices for bank supervision. The most recent issue of Supervisory Insights focuses on the following four areas: (i) cybersecurity, highlighting the importance of maintaining a cybersecurity awareness training program and ensuring that a bank’s “executive management and Board of Directors (board) play a key role in overseeing programs to protect data and technology assets and establishing a corporate culture consistent with the bank’s risk tolerance”; (ii) marketplace lending, emphasizing associated risks, such as third-party arrangements, and the significance of examining the overall marketplace lending model to ensure that it is aligned with the bank’s business strategy; (iii) an assessment of the lending landscape for banks, describing current lending conditions and the risks reported in the FDIC’s Credit and Consumer Products/Services Survey; and (iv) an overview of recently released regulations and supervisory guidance, including the revised interagency examination procedures for the new TRID rule.
The FDIC’s marketplace lending guidance comes after the California Department of Business Oversight’s December inquiry into the industry, requesting that 14 firms provide information on their business models and online platforms.
CFPB Releases TRID Resource for Construction Loans
Recently, the CFPB released a fact sheet that provides a basic outline for applying Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosures to constructions loans. Specifically, the fact sheet notes that (i) most construction loans are covered by the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosures, with the exception of those that are open-end transactions or for commercial purposes; and (ii) Regulation Z’s existing provisions for disclosures for certain construction loans and construction-to-permanent loans continue to apply. In addition, the fact sheet provides guidance regarding a creditor’s choice to disclose a construction loan with permanent financing as one or two transactions. According to the fact sheet, the CFPB may release additional guidance to facilitate compliance with the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule, including a possible webinar regarding construction loan disclosures.