MBA Urges CFPB to Meet Over Rules

Joining the ranks of other concerned trade organizations, the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm (MBA) submitted a comment letter to ""Treasury Department"":http://www.treasury.gov/Pages/default.aspx adviser and nominee Elizabeth Warren, urging the ""Consumer Financial Protection Bureau"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ (CFPB) to consult with stakeholders on closing costs and holding firm on a key question affecting various consumer financial laws.

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The question in mind concerns the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) and Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), some of the provisions for which the ""CFPB"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ wants to combine in order to create a uniform mortgage disclosure form. The letter requested an in-person meeting in place of a comment period, which the ""MBA"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm said ""was not sufficient.""

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""We urge that the Bureau meet with key stakeholders as soon as possible,"" the ""MBA"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm said. ""A meeting at this point could provide lenders a better understanding of the direction of the project so they could offer more informed comments and offer stakeholders an opportunity to explain challenges under RESPA and TILA and the practical concerns posed by the current prototypes.""

In its commentary, which it included in the letter, the ""MBA"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm aired concerns about the disclosure form, citing the potential for confusion over the representation of monthly, principal, and interest rates, and the creation forms inconsistent with RESPA and TILA.

""If the [""CFPB"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/] intends to modify the RESPA and TILA requirements, we believe that point should be made clear so commenters can provide their views on the direction the new forms might take,"" the ""MBA"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm said in the report. ""Given the lack of clarity on this point, it is unnecessarily difficult for commenters to provide comprehensive and informed responses.""

According to the ""MBA"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm, the proposed forms contained language not found in RESPA and TILA, and mistakenly combined percentages between zero and 10 and grouped fees unrelated to transfer taxes.

A national association, the ""MBA"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm represents the real estate finance industry