Links in “Agencies”

The agency announces the vendors and financial institutions that will be participating in its mortgage eClosing pilot program, which is scheduled to take place later this year. [8/25/14]

The CFPB's newly released guidance on mortgage servicing sets for two new sections, "General Transfer-Related Policies and Procedures" and "Applicability of the New Servicing Rules to Transfers." [8/25/14]

Scam operators running the so-called "Bill Payment Government Assistance Program" targeted distressed borrowers with promises of paying off the consumer's debt for an advance service charge of $900 to $1,100. Their YouTube video purported an endorsement from the president with a recording of him saying "I approve this message." The FTC is seeking to shut the operators down. [8/25/14]

The CFPB has announced the participants selected for its three-month eClosing pilot program. Hoping the program will "provide valuable insight" into efforts to improve the mortgage closing experience, CFPB Director Richard Cordray explained, "we believe that eClosings have the potential to create a better process for everyone involved." The selected participants include both vendors and creditors to assess the effectiveness of a variety of possible solutions to be used. [8/22/14]

The FTC and CFPB have filed an amicus brief for a case regarding the accurate interpretation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The agencies argue that the provision requiring a notice to be sent to consumers within five days after initial contact from a debt collector must be provided by each debt collector, not simply the first to make contact. The ruling in this matter could significantly affect policies and procedures for entities throughout the industry.  [8/22/14]

Bank of America agreed to pay a settlement of nearly $17 billion in response to allegation of mortgage loan fraud. Although $800 million will go to the FHA fund and $200 million to Ginnie Mae, the remaining $16 billion of the settlement will be used to resolve fraud claims across the country. Of the $16 billion, $7 billion will be reserved for consumer relief, which will be distributed in a variety of ways to those hit hardest during the housing crisis. [8/22/14]

National Community Reinvestment Coalition urges the CFPB to expand its collection of data on small business loans to include the race, gender and ethnicity of the principal owners of businesses. [8/22/14]

The National Federation of Retailers has only addressed the interchange fee limits in its petition to the Supreme Court to overturn the Federal Reserve Board’s interchange rule. It appears they have accepted the Fed’s positon that debit card issuers must ensure that two unaffiliated payment networks are available to cardholders. Originally, retailers had argued that the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act required card issuers provide more than two options. [8/21/14]

In the attempt to make his casino more hospitable, George Que agreed with a number of high-end gamblers, including some undercover agents, to not file CTRs or SARs. As a result, FinCEN has permanently barred Mr. Que from working within the financial industry due to his willful violations of the BSA. Oh, and there was a $5,000 civil money penalty. [8/21/14]

Trade group rebuts New York Times editorial that called for the CFPB and FTC to move "swiftly and aggressively" on subprime auto lending. It labeled the editorial as an unfair attempt to paint the industry as a hotbed of deceptive practices. [8/21/14]