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CFPB Outlines Fair Lending Priorities for 2017
On December 16, the Director of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity at the CFPB announced the Bureau’s fair lending priorities for 2017. According to Ms. Ficklin’s blog post, the CFPB will increase its efforts to prevent credit discrimination and improve credit access by focusing on redlining, mortgage and student loan servicing, and small business lending. Specifically, the Bureau will increase its focus on evaluating: (i) whether lenders are intentionally avoiding lending in minority neighborhoods; (ii) if delinquent borrowers face more difficulty in working out payment arrangements with mortgage or student loan servicers because of their race or ethnicity; and (iii) whether women-owned and minority-owned small businesses experience discrimination when applying for credit.
FHFA Finalizes Amendments to Regulations Governing FHLBs' Acquired Member Asset Programs
On December 19, the FHFA published a final rule modifying, reorganizing and relocating the current regulation governing the Federal Home Loan Banks’ (FHLBs) Acquired Member Asset (AMA) programs. As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the final rule removes and replaces references in the current regulation to ratings issued by a Nationally Recognized Statistical Ratings Organization. The rule also provides the FHLBs with greater flexibility in choosing a model for estimating the credit enhancement required for AMA loans. The final rule adds a provision allowing an FHLB to authorize the transfer of mortgage servicing rights on AMA loans to any institution, including a non-member of the FHLB System. The new rule also allows FHLBs to acquire mortgage loans that exceed the conforming loan limits where such loans are guaranteed or insured by a department or agency of the U.S. government. The final rule excludes a proposed provision that would have eliminated the use of private, loan-level, supplemental mortgage insurance in the member credit enhancement structure required for the AMA programs, but the final version does require FHLBs to establish financial and operational standards that insurers must meet before offering insurance on AMA loans. The new final rule goes into effect on January 18, 2017.
Also on December 19, FHFA issued another final rule (i) limiting the scope of “business activities” that would trigger an FHLB’s obligation to file a “new business activity” notice, (ii) modifying the submission requirements, and (iii) establishing new timelines for agency review and approval of such notices. The rule “narrows the scope of the [new business activity] regulation in two ways: (1) By limiting it to activities that introduce new material risks to the [FHLB]; and (2) By eliminating the need to file an NBA notice prior to accepting new types of collateral.” This new rule similarly goes into effect on January 18, 2017.
FFIEC Updates CRA Data Entry Software and HMDA Data Filing Method
On December 19, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) posted the 2017 version of its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Data Entry Software. This software—which is intended to help automate the filing of CRA data—is year-specific, i.e., 2016 reporting requires the 2016 version, not the 2017 version. In November, the FFIEC clarified that it was discontinuing its HMDA Data Entry Software and instead requiring that filers submit HMDA data collected in 2017 using a web interface called the “HMDA Platform.”
CFPB Unveils Web-based Tool To Deliver Regular Updates on Consumer Lending Markets
On December 19, the CFPB announced the release of “Consumer Credit Trends,” a beta version of its new web-based tool to help the public monitor developments in the mortgage, credit card, auto loan, and student loan markets. According to the Bureau, the data used by Consumer Credit Trends “draws from a nationally representative sample of credit records maintained by one of the top three U.S. credit repositories.” The CFPB plans to update this information regularly, and will offer analyses on notable findings as warranted. It also clarifies that “before being provided to the Bureau,” the credit records are “stripped of any information that might reveal consumers’ identities, such as names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.” The ability to “chart the state of consumer markets,” says CFPB Director Richard Cordray, “will help us identify and act on trends that warn of another crisis or that show credit is too constricted.”
New FHFA Rule Requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Submit Underserved Markets Plan
FHFA published a final rule in the December 18 Federal Register implementing certain “Duty to Serve” provisions of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, as amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Among other things, these provisions require that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac adopt formal plans to improve the availability of mortgage financing in a “safe and sound manner” for residential properties that serve “very low-, low-, and moderate-income families” in three specified underserved markets: manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural markets. FHFA’s new rule addresses this obligation by requiring both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to submit to FHFA a three-year “Underserved Markets Plan” that describes the activities and objectives they will undertake to meet their Duty to Serve requirements. The Plans will become effective January 2018, after which time, the new rule requires further that FHFA annually evaluate, rate, and report to Congress each Enterprise's compliance with its Duty to Serve obligations as required by the statute.
FDIC Approves Seventh Consecutive Reduction in Annual Operating Budget
On December 13, the FDIC announced that its board of directors has approved a $2.18 billion operating budget for 2017, representing a 2.4 percent decrease from 2016 and a 46 percent decrease from its peak funding in 2010 at the height of the financial crisis. Commenting on the budget and staffing levels, FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg said, “This is the seventh consecutive reduction in the FDIC’s annual operating budget. These reductions are made possible by continuing steady improvement in the health of the U.S. banking industry.”
Justice Department Recovers Over $4.7 Billion From False Claims Act Cases in Fiscal Year 2016
On December 14, the DOJ announced that it has obtained more than $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments in civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in fiscal year 2016 (ending September 30). Of the $4.7 billion recovered, $2.5 billion came from the health care industry, including drug companies, medical device companies, hospitals, nursing homes, laboratories, and physicians. The DOJ also recovered $1.6 billion from housing and mortgage settlements and judgments this past fiscal year – the second highest annual recovery in the history of the federally insured mortgage program.
There were 845 new False Claims Act suits in 2016, one of the largest totals in history. Of those, 143 were initiated by the government and 702 were brought by whistleblowers. Approximately $100 million was recovered in cases handled exclusively by whistleblowers and their attorneys—a sharp drop from the record $1.1 billion recovered in 2015, but an amount comparable to the averate amount recovered in previous years. Notably, the $4.7 billion recovered in 2016 does not include state shares. Such shares were significant in 2016 because of payouts involving the federal-state Medicaid program, with the top three health care settlements alone resulting in distributions of approximately $500 million to states.
Trump Names Ben Carson to HUD Post
In a press release issued December 5, President-Elect Trump named retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Carson was a 2016 Republican presidential candidate. Raised in poverty in inner-city Detroit, he was head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for nearly three decades, rising to national fame in 1987 when he led the first successful separation of twins conjoined at the head.
NYDFS Unveils Consumer Bill of Rights for Mortgage Foreclosures; Announces New Regulations for "Zombie Properties"
On December 7, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the publication of the NYDFS Residential Foreclosure Actions Consumer Bill of Rights – intended to offer guidance to homeowners facing foreclosure in New York. Concurrently, the New York Governor also announced new NYDFS regulations intended to curb the threat to communities posed by vacant and abandoned properties (“zombie properties”) by “expediting foreclosure proceedings, improving the efficiency and integrity of the mandatory settlement conferences, and obligating banks and mortgage servicers to secure, protect and maintain vacant and abandoned properties before and during foreclosure proceedings.”
The Consumer Bill of Rights acts as guidance for homeowners facing foreclosure, and specifies that homeowners have certain rights and obligations, including, among others: (i) the right to stay in the home unless and until a court orders the homeowner to vacate the property; (ii) the right to be represented by an attorney; (iii) the right to be free from harassment and foreclosure scams; (iv) the right to avoid foreclosure by making a full or negotiated payment prior to foreclosure sale; (v) the right to be notified at least 90 days prior to a foreclosure suit being filed; (vi) the right to explore loss mitigation options; and (vii) the right to receive a copy of legal papers in a lawsuit. The Consumer Bill of Rights also outlines various obligations of a homeowner, including to respond to complaints, appearing at court, and negotiating in good faith. Under the law, the court must provide homeowners a copy of the Consumer Bill of Rights at the initial mandatory settlement conference.
With respect to vacant and abandoned properties, the new regulations target blight caused by such zombie properties by, among other things, requiring that bank and mortgage servicers: (i) complete an inspection of a property subject to delinquency within 90 days; (ii) secure and maintain the property where the bank or servicer has a reasonable basis to believe that the property is vacant and abandoned; (iii) report all such vacant and abandoned properties to NYDFS; and (iv) submit quarterly reports detailing both their efforts to secure and maintain the properties and the status of any foreclosure proceedings. The NYDFS Superintendent is authorized under the new regulations to issue civil penalties of $500 per day per property for violations of the new regulations.
Jury Finds Mortgage Company and CEO Liable for Fraud; Awards $92 Million in Damages
A federal jury has ordered two Texas-based home mortgage entities and their chief executive to pay nearly $93 million for defrauding the U.S. government into insuring thousands of risky loans, the Department of Justice announced on November 30.
The mortgage companies and their former CEO were found liable for violating the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) by, among other things, failing to maintain an adequate quality control program; and submitting false annual certifications regarding quality control requirements. Specifically, the government contended that defendants operated over 100 “shadow” branch offices that originated FHA-insured mortgage loans without obtaining the necessary HUD approval, and which were therefore not subject to HUD oversight.
Ultimately, the jury awarded $92,982,775 in total damages, including $7,370,132 against the CEO specifically—a sum that is subject to mandatory tripling. Further penalties relating to the FIRREA violations are expected, which U.S. District Judge George Hanks will set at a later date.