On July 15, 2020, the CPFB filed a complaint in federal court against Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) representing the first ever redlining complaint against a non-bank mortgage lender. The complaint is brought under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), but not the Fair Housing Act (FHA).… Continue Reading

The CFPB has released a final list of “rural” or “underserved” counties for use in 2014.  The CFPB has indicated that  creditors may rely on this list as a safe harbor to determine whether a county is “rural” or “underserved” for loans made during a given calendar year.  (In
May 2013, the CFPB released the list for loans made from June 1, 2013, through
December 31, 2013).… Continue Reading

We reported that they were coming and now they’re here. This week, on its website, the CFPB began taking comments on two draft designs of a disclosure that combines the final TILA disclosure and the RESPA HUD-1 Settlement Statement. A “consumer tool” asks consumers which form they would prefer to be given at closing to describe final loan terms and closing costs while an “industry tool” asks industry members “which format” they would prefer for their customer “to use at closing” to describe those items.… Continue Reading