CFPB Counters Trade Group’s Call for Date to Resign

In an ""exclusive interview with _MReport_"":https://themreport.com/articles/exclusive-trade-group-to-call-for-cfpb-official-resign-after-comments-2012-06-12 Tuesday, Marc Savitt, president of the ""National Association of Independent Housing Professionals (NAIHP),"":http://www.naihp.org/ divulged his intentions to call for the resignation of Raj Date from his post as deputy director of the ""Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)."":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/ Following the interview, NAIHP released an official announcement calling for just that.

[IMAGE]

""Based upon his apparent bias against brokers, I'm concerned the proposed changes to loan originator compensation, as well as other expected rule revisions have already been internally finalized,"" Savitt stated in the release.

""Accordingly, NAIHP believes Mr. Date should resign,"" he concluded.

Jen Howard, a CFPB spokesperson, told _MReport_ Wednesday that the in the comments sparking Savitt's request, ""Mr. Date criticized a broken system in which some mortgage loan originators win when consumers lose. In enacting Dodd-Frank, Congress outlawed the practices Mr. Date discussed for the reasons he explained in his speech.""

Countering Savitt's accusation that loan originator compensation rules have already been internally finalized by the CFPB, Howard said that the ""Consumer Bureau is in the early stages of developing rules to implement this new prohibition and welcomes the input of all stakeholders as it moves through the process.""

Savitt and NAIHP took issue with Date's ""comments"":http://www.consumerfinance.gov/speeches/remarks-by-raj-date-to-the-american-bankers-association-conference/ before the ""American Bankers Association"":http://www.aba.com/Pages/default.aspx Monday when he stated, ""Too often it was the case that mortgage brokers were paid more to give borrowers a worse deal.

[COLUMN_BREAK]

""If a borrower could qualify for a loan at, say, 6 percent, a broker might juice that rate from 6 percent up to 8 percent,"" he said. ""As a result, the most important, most visible person in the mortgage process for many borrowers ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the mortgage broker ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô had a financial stake that was confusingly and perversely in direct opposition to the interest of the consumer himself. If people are paid to treat customers poorly, it shouldn't be surprising when they do.""

Savitt believes these comments reflect a ""preconceived notion about mortgage brokers,"" saying Date's claims ""are without merit, as numerous, well respected independent studies have vindicated mortgage brokers.""

NAIHP pointed out in a statement on the ""home page"":http://www.naihp.org/ of its website that Monday's comments were not the first incidence in which Date made such comments. He gave the same speech before the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mbaa.org/default.htm early last month.

""As the CFPB approves all public comments, this matter goes beyond Mr. Date. It appears to be the mindset of the CFPB,"" Savitt said in an email Wednesday morning.

NAIHP opposes flat fee compensation for mortgage brokers. In a ""letter"":http://www.thenichereport.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/NAIHP-Comment-Letter-to-CFPB.pdf to the CFPB in June, NAIHP and four other mortgage professional organizations claimed they had documentation that ""clearly establishes mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers and MLOs were NOT the cause of the housing crisis, nor was their compensation."" They reportedly submitted their documentation to the CFPB for its review.

Furthermore, the organizations claimed that ""[e]very level of the mortgage finance industry operates by basis points or percentage points. Introducing a flat fee into the process is unworkable and will create substantial harm and confusion to consumers.""

""Most of the evidence provided by consumer groups and others were either anecdotal or depicted conduct by creditors, believed to be brokers,"" the letter said. Brokers, Savitt pointed out, are subject to a different set of rules than creditors and are required to obtain federal and state licensing.

""This misconception about brokers has created a bias toward them and has lead to an onslaught of rules and regulations, specific to brokers,"" the letter also stated.

The CFPB is currently accepting comments on the ability-to-repay rule through July 9 and plans to make a decision by January.