Tag Archives: Mortgage Disclosures

Florida-based CreditBureau Services filed a suit Tuesday against Experian, the national consumer credit data repository, and CoreLogic, Inc., the nation's largest credit report reseller, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida for alleged violations of the antitrust laws. The suit claims that Experian and CoreLogic sought to deny smaller credit agencies access to Experian's mortgage credit information for "tri-merged" mortgage credit reports. Banks and investors require tri-merged reports to extend credit for home mortgages.

The CFPB has officially proposed mortgage disclosure forms designed to enhance understanding. The forms are a result of research, testing, writing, and review and are being created to help consumers comprehend the terms of their mortgage and the costs involved. The proposed forms are part of the agency's Know Before You Owe project and are to be provided after applying for a loan and before closing."When making what is likely the biggest purchase of their life, consumers should be looking at paperwork that clearly lays out the terms of the deal," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency unveiled new additions to the strategic plan it released in February this year, with many changes focused on moving the secondary mortgage market back to private capital sources and creating infrastructure needed to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The additions include four principles, such as safety and security for the residential mortgage market, stability and liquidity in housing finance, and preservation of current enterprise assets. The plan, due for enactment if passed by Congress between the years 2013 and 2017.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau threw its weight into the courtroom recently by filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the tenth circuit. The issue at stake: Whether homeowners can cancel their loans within a three-year period stipulated under the Truth-in-Lending Act ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and whether a plaintiff need sue within the same timeframe before the right of rescission expires. The case in Denver involves one Jean Rosenfield, who sued for an injunction against servicer HSBC in 2009 when an earlier notice of rescission went unnoticed by the servicer and lender.

The Senate cleared a bill Thursday that bans bonuses for executives with either of the GSEs and requires mortgage disclosures from senior-level government officials. The bill ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô passed by a count of 96 to 3, according to news outlets, and combines an earlier House version with Senate amendments. Except in certain circumstances, under the law, government officials and their spouses will need to disclose report on and disclose information about their mortgage loans. GSE executives will be eligible only for federal pay grades.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray told a gathering of the nation's editors and journalists Friday that the agency needs their help to make consumers more aware of predatory lending hurdles. He highlighted efforts by the CFPB to increase transparency in the markets, underscored the role undertaken by lenders in the crisis, and played up the need for more regulation for servicers. The address by Cordray is the latest in a round of public appearances by the CFPB director, newly appointed by President Barack Obama in January.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took steps Tuesday to engage mortgage lenders by forming a small business panel to review the integration of mortgage disclosure requirements into a single uniform document. The Dodd-Frank Act obligates the bureau to streamline conflicting rules and statutory requirements from the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Truth-in-Lending Act. The CFPB billed the panel as a way to increase transparency with mortgage lenders.

House lawmakers passed legislation Friday that prohibits insider trading among their members, amending the bill to ban controversial multimillion-dollar bonuses for senior-level executives with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The lower chamber cleared the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act by a vote of 417 to two. An amendment to the legislation bars executives from receiving bonuses while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac remain in federal conservatorship. This is the second insider-trading bill from Congress to prohibit bonus pay for GSE executives.

The Obama administration rolled out an ambitious package of benefits and structural changes Wednesday for homeowners who want to refinance their loans. The plan would cost anywhere from $5 billion to $10 billion and pay for itself with fees exacted from financial institutions. If it makes it into law, the bill would significantly expand refinancing opportunities for underwater borrowers, shift appraisal responsibilities in distressed neighborhoods to an automated system under the GSEs, and offer new servicing reforms.

An awkward and slightly tense air greeted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray at his first congressional hearing Tuesday, where the new appointee cast his agency as one that would strive to reduce duplication and increase transparency. Although careful in their approach to the new director, Republican committee members frequently cited their concerns about federal overreach, the constitutionality of his recess appointment, and interests for transparency. The CFPB can now supervise nonbank financial entities.