Links in “Lending”

Florida’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals added much needed clarity to the question of when a foreclosure action is time-barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The Fifth District Court of Appeals stated, “we conclude that a foreclosure action for default in payments occurring after the order of dismissal in the first foreclosure action is not barred by the statute of limitations found in section 95.11(2)(c), Florida Statutes, provided the subsequent foreclosure action on the subsequent defaults is brought within the limitations period.” [5/21]

The 26 fair lending exams in 2013 exceeded the agency's goal of 18 by 44% and is more than double the number of such exams in 2012. And that's just on-site exams. NCUA reported 41 off-site contacts with credit unions related to fair lending. [5/21]

The Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act would allow eligible student loan borrowers to refinance their loans at lower rates offered to new borrowers. The CFPB foresees that "there may be a domino effect on the broader economy if we ignore borrowers currently stuck with high student loan payments."  [5/21]

ABA lends its support to a bill that would allow banks who originate a loan and hold it in portfolio for the whole life of the loan to meet the Ability to Repay and Qualified Mortgage requirements. [5/21]

That’s what Members 1^st FCU, a $2.6 billion dollar credit union in Mechanicsburg, PA, has discovered through its new merchant lending program.  Members 1^st is now booking $100,000 per month in loans in the medical field for items such as elective surgeries, braces, and dental work and in the home improvement field for items such as home cooling and heating system installations. [5/20]

The CFPB has received more than 15,000 complaints submitted by older consumers, with one-third of those related to mortgages. The CFPB notes that older consumers are carrying more mortgage debt into retirement, with few older homeowners owning their home outright than in the past two decades. [5/19]

Another individual, Svetislav Vujovic, has been convicted of 10 counts of making false statements to a federal credit union, two counts of money laundering and one count each of fraud and bribery. Mr Vujovic obtained dozens of personal and business loans totaling more than $30 million over a four-year period. [5/16]

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act got a lot of attention as a result of the $60 million settlement announced by the DOJ and the Department of Education. The DOJ alleged that a major student loan servicer failed to reduce the rate on loans to servicemembers to 6% when required to do so. However, the statute requires the servicemember to submit a written request for relief before relief is granted. The decision by the CFPB, DOJ and ED appears to ignore this requirement. [5/15]

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued its “Blueprint for Access” outlining the additional steps the agency is taking to expand access to credit for underserved borrowers. Proposed changes to FHA’s quality assurance measures will provide clarity and transparency in FHA’s policies to encourage lending across the entire credit spectrum. [5/14]

NCUA’s Annual Report released yesterday shows that 26 credit unions were subjected to Fair Lending audits last year with an average of 205 hours spent on each credit union. In addition, NCUA initiated 41 offsite Fair Lending contacts where the credit unions’ Fair Lending policies were reviewed and recommendations provided for improvements. [5/13]