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CFPB Issues Final Rules on Mortgage Servicing and Payday Lending

michaelchristians • July 8, 2020

Mortgage Servicing

On June 30th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published in the Federal Register an interim final rule lessening the compliance burden associated with offering loss mitigation options under Regulation X to a borrower experiencing a financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rule provides that a servicer may make an offer of loss mitigation assistance based on an incomplete application, provided that all of the following criteria are met:

  •  The borrower is permitted to delay repayment of any covered amount under the loss mitigation plan until –
    •  The loan is refinanced,
    •  The property is sold,
    •  The loan matures, or
    •  When mortgage insurance terminates in connection with an FHA insured transaction
  •  Any amount for which repayment is delayed under the plan does not accrue interest
  •  The servicer does not assess a fee in connection with the plan
  •  The servicer waives all existing late charges and penalties upon the borrower’s acceptance of the plan
  •  The plan resolves any pre-existing delinquency in connection with the loan

The rule is effective immediately.

Payday Lending

In October 2017, the CFPB promulgated its payday lending regulations at Part 1041. The regulation had three main requirements:

  •  A financial institution must determine a borrower’s ability to repay in connection with a covered loan
  •  A financial institution is prohibited from making repeated attempts to withdraw payment for a covered loan from a consumer’s account after its second consecutive attempt to do so has failed
  •  A financial institution must furnish certain types of information regarding its payday loans to each Registered Information System (RIS)

Today, the CFPB issued a final rule that revokes both the underwriting and information reporting requirements under Part 1041. The payment provisions of the regulation are unaffected by the rule. To assist financial institutions, the CFPB has provided an unofficial and informal redlined version of the rule which is available here.

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