Dovetailing with President Trump’s recent Executive Order requiring a reduction in regulatory burden, on March 21, 2017, a CFPB official remarked at the American Bankers Association Government Relations Summit that the CFPB was planning to start its review of significant mortgage regulations, including the ability to repay/qualified mortgage rule.

The Dodd-Frank Act requires the CFPB to use available evidence and data to assess all of its rules five years after they go into effect to ensure they are meeting the purposes and objectives of Dodd-Frank, and the specific goals of the subject rule. … Continue Reading

The CFPB, Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, FHFA, NCUA, and OCC published in the Federal Register on August 8, 2013 proposed rules creating several exemptions to the appraisal requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans. Most notably, the proposed rule creates an exemption for certain refinances with characteristics common to “streamlined” refinances. To be exempt from the appraisal rules, the owner or guarantor of the refinance loan must be the current owner or guarantor of the existing obligation, and the regular periodic payments under the new loan cannot cause a principal balance increase, permit the consumer to defer repayment, or result in a balloon payment.… Continue Reading