Hello, LOs!
It may seem like your day-to-day work is far beyond the reach of Capitol Hill.
But because housing is such a regulated (and subsidized) industry, one that impacts every congressional district, it's best to keep an eye on what's happening in Washington, D.C.
Last week, United States Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer moved to schedule a vote for Rohit Chopra, the current administration's nominee to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He passed a procedural vote last week, narrowly, which split on party lines.
Today, sources told me that a vote on Chopra's nomination is imminent. Insiders expect his nomination to go forward. What does it mean for the mortgage industry?
Sources have told me that there are more than a few ongoing investigations at the CFPB waiting for Chopra to weigh in on the final terms of settlements. The outcome of those investigations, some of them involving mortgage servicers, sources say, will help the industry understand what the CFPB is looking for and how strict they will be.
Servicers will be expected to adhere to all of the guidelines for shepherding borrowers through federal forbearance and loan modification programs. Will regulators be understanding, given the confusion in the first months of 2020? It's hard to say.
Compliance attorneys also expect the CFPB to take a closer look at fair lending violations and potential redlining, which is determined largely by a comparative analysis of performance in minority areas. That means that lenders should be proactively running statistical analyses internally, if they want to be prepared to defend against a potential investigation.
The CFPB may also be looking at joint ventures in terms of RESPA compliance, Daniella Casseres, an attorney in Offit Kurman, told me this week. They'll be scrutinizing partnerships to make sure they have a strong business rationale and are not a "sham arrangement," she said.
Do you think stronger fair lending enforcement could move the needle on the racial homeownership gap? Or is it more like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic? Send a note to gkromrei@housingwire.com
Georgia Kromrei
Senior Mortgage Reporter, HousingWire
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