Other Federal Agencies & GSEs – Page 3 – Consumer Financial Services Watch

Navigating HUD’s New Single Family Housing Policy Handbook

Feb 17 2015

By: Phillip L. Schulman, Holly Spencer Bunting, Krista Cooley, Emily J. Booth-Dornfeld, Christa Bieker

Last fall the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued the first section of its new Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (“Single Family Handbook” or “Handbook”). The Single Family Handbook is designed to achieve a consolidated, authoritative source of single-family housing policy. In addition to consolidating all policy into a single document, the Handbook makes numerous substantive changes to Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) requirements. The Handbook will be effective for FHA-insured loans with case numbers assigned on and after June 15, 2015. This client alert analyzes key changes introduced by the Handbook.

To read the full alert, click here.

Department of Justice Settles Its First Discrimination Case against a “Buy Here, Pay Here” Used Car Dealership

Feb 16 2015

By: Melanie Brody, Anjali Garg

On February 10, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the North Carolina Attorney General announced a settlement against two “buy here, pay here” used car dealerships and the companies’ presidents. The settlement resolves allegations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, its implementing regulation (Regulation B), the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the North Carolina Uniform Commercial Code, that the companies engaged in “reverse redlining” by allegedly targeting African American borrowers for used car loans using unfair and predatory terms.

Fannie and Freddie Announce Guidelines for 3 Percent Down Payment Mortgage Program

Dec 12 2014

By: Phillip L. Schulman and Christa Bieker

Earlier this week, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced guidelines for a new mortgage program that will allow down payments as low as three percent for some first-time and low-income home buyers. Melvin Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency which regulates Fannie and Freddie, explained that the new guidelines will “enable credit worthy borrowers who can afford a mortgage, but lack the resources to pay a substantial down payment plus closing costs, to get a mortgage with 3 percent down.”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not make loans, but instead buy loans from mortgage lenders and bundle them into securities to sell to investors. Fannie and Freddie’s loan guidelines have broad influence in the mortgage-lending market. The program, first announced in October, is designed to expand access to mortgages with low down payments, which Watt has stated is a “much needed piece to the broader access to credit puzzle.”

FinCEN Acknowledges the Problem, But a Solution Will Require More

Nov 12 2014

By: David L. Beam

Money services businesses (“MSBs”) have been losing access to banking services. Increased scrutiny by bank regulators of MSB relationships have led banks to conclude that providing services to MSBs carries increased compliance and reputational risk. Even if these risks can be managed in theory through appropriate due diligence and controls, many banks have decided that costs and risks of offering banking services to MSBs outweigh the revenue that they generate. Read More

U.S. District Court Strikes Down HUD’s Fair Housing Act Disparate Impact Rule

Nov 04 2014

By: Paul F. Hancock, Andrew C. Glass, Roger L. Smerage, and Olivia Kelman

On Monday, November 3, 2014, Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down the disparate impact rule promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) in March 2013 under the Fair Housing Act. The court held that HUD had issued the rule—codified at 24 C.F.R. § 100.500—in contravention of the plain language of the Fair Housing Act. The case is styled American Insurance Association, et al. v. United States Department of Housing & Urban Development, et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-00966-RJL (D.D.C.).

California Attorney General Offers Online and Mobile “Do Not Track” Privacy Policy Recommendations

Jul 07 2014

By: Jonathan D. Jaffe, Jeremy M. McLaughlin

California Attorney General Kamala Harris recently issued guidance to help companies provide more “meaningful” privacy policies. Entitled “Making Your Privacy Practices Public,” the recommendations consolidate previously issued guidance and provide new information regarding online tracking and Do Not Track (DNT) signals. As the guidance document indicates, the recommendations “are not regulations, mandates or legal opinions” and offer greater protections than those required under existing law. Clearly, though, they reflect the attorney general’s preferences and what she believes are privacy best practices. Read More

Inspector General Urges FHFA to Consider Suing Servicers, Force-Placed Insurers

Jun 30 2014

By: Nanci L. Weissgold, Kerri M. Smith, * Christopher Shelton
* Mr. Shelton is not admitted in D.C. Supervised by Nanci Weissgold, member of D.C. Bar.

On June 25, 2014, the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a report on force-placed insurance with only one recommendation: FHFA should consider suing servicers and force-placed insurers for hundreds of millions of dollars in allegedly “excessive” force-placed insurance premiums.

As we discussed in a recent blog post, “force-placed” or “lender-placed” insurance is an area of increasing controversy, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rolling out new restrictions on perceived conflicts of interest between insurers and the servicers that bring them business. The inspector general noted these reforms going forward, but believes that FHFA should also assess how to pursue perceived past abuses. Read More

Recent Force-Placed Insurance Initiatives by FHFA & CFPB Suggest Divergent Priorities

Jun 12 2014

By: Nanci L. Weissgold, *Christopher Shelton
* Mr. Shelton is not admitted in D.C. Supervised by Nanci Weissgold, member of D.C. Bar.

Force-placed insurance is under continuing scrutiny by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). However, each agency’s focus is slightly different. FHFA, perhaps galvanized by a New York enforcement action, has focused on conflicts of interest between servicers and insurers. The CFPB has focused on erroneous placing of insurance and excessive charges. Read More

Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. FHFA: Fremont Meets The Federal Government

Jun 05 2014

By: Irene C. Freidel

On June 2, 2014, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sued the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac in state court, under Massachusetts’ consumer protection statute (“Chapter 93A”) to force them to sell foreclosed properties to non-profit organizations at fair market value, so that the properties can then be re-sold or leased back to the former homeowner. See Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Federal Housing Finance Agency, et al., C.A. No. 14-1763 (June 2, 2014). Among other things, the lawsuit seeks a declaration that the GSEs’ current anti-fraud guidelines violate Massachusetts foreclosure law (M.G.L. c. 244, § 35C(h)), an order requiring property sales to non-profits in specific transactions, an injunction to prevent the GSEs from refusing to adhere to Massachusetts law, and an award of penalties of up to $5,000 for each transaction that the court determines constituted an unfair and deceptive practice under state law. The lawsuit follows a series of communications between the Massachusetts Attorney General and FHFA beginning in 2012 in which the state has demanded that FHFA direct the GSEs to change their anti-fraud “arms-length” requirements that apply to short sales and REO transactions. Read More

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Revise Servicing Transfer Requirements

May 16 2014

By: Eric J. Edwardson

There has been considerable recent discussion in the mortgage servicing industry regarding the increasing hurdles to transfers of residential mortgage servicing rights. Those hurdles include additional scrutiny from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and state regulators. In the past week, each of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued updates to their servicing transfer requirements moving up the due dates for requests for approvals of servicing transfers, making it more difficult to consummate quick transfers. The new requirements don’t create new standards for approval of transfers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicing rights, but they do add a bit more procedural difficulty for such transfers. Read More

Catagory:Other Federal Agencies & GSEs