In late-December 2022, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac officially announced that SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate) will serve as the replacement index for their legacy LIBOR-based adjustable rate loans.  A follow-up announcement was issued by each of the GSE’s on January 25, 2023, providing more clarity on the SOFR transition for legacy single-family ARM loans […]

This past fall (2022), the IRS published a new version of Form 4506-C, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.  This new revised version initially was scheduled to become effective December 1, 2022.  However, because the IRS did not publish the final version until November 1, 2022, the required effective date was extended to March 1, […]

The Federal Housing Administration (‘FHA”) announced last week that it is increasing the options available to borrowers unable to make their payments on FHA-insured mortgages. FHA is now making COVID-19 loss mitigation options available to all eligible borrowers, regardless of the reason for their delinquency. FHA is also raising the maximum partial claim amount from […]

On September 23, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered a judgment invalidating the CFPB’s rule raising the HMDA reporting threshold to 100 covered loans. The court's decision returns the operative HMDA reporting threshold to 25 closed-end loans originated. Notably, the court’s ruling did not alter the reporting threshold for […]

The CFPB’s sense is that a sharper focus on relationship-based banking could play a critical role in fostering a fair, transparent, and competitive marketplace.

The IRS is modernizing the Income Verification Express Service (“IVES”) used by mortgage lenders to confirm the income of a borrower by adding Optical Character Recognition (“OCR”) software. The new software will read Form 4506-C, the form submitted by lenders to request a borrower’s transcripts, which will automate what was previously a manual process. In […]

The CFPB announced lenders must provide applicants with an accurate statement of the specific, principal reasons for any adverse action determination.

The CFPB recently announced an initiative to stop lenders from charging potentially excessive and exploitative ancillary “junk” fees.

The CFPB announced separate initiatives designed to ensure that home valuations used by lenders are fair and accurate, and not discriminatory.

The CFPB announced a new process to receive public petitions for rulemaking or regulatory changes.