Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection September 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The Bureau is soliciting comments concerning its proposed information collection titled, ``Pentagon Federal Credit Card Agreement Simplification Survey.'' The proposed collection has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review and approval. A copy of the submission, including copies of the proposed collection and supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting the agency contact listed below.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the Bureau) is proposing to amend Regulation X, which implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) and the official interpretation of the regulation. The proposed amendments implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) provisions regarding mortgage loan servicing. Specifically, this proposal requests comment regarding proposed additions to Regulation X to address seven servicer obligations: To correct errors asserted by mortgage loan borrowers; to provide information requested by mortgage loan borrowers; to ensure that a reasonable basis exists to obtain force-placed insurance; to establish reasonable information management policies and procedures; to provide information about mortgage loss mitigation options to delinquent borrowers; to provide delinquent borrowers access to servicer personnel with continuity of contact about the borrower's mortgage loan account; and to evaluate borrowers' applications for available loss mitigation options. This proposal would also modify and streamline certain existing servicing-related provisions of Regulation X. For instance, the proposal would revise provisions relating to a mortgage servicer's obligation to provide disclosures to borrowers in connection with a transfer of mortgage servicing, and a mortgage servicer's obligation to manage escrow accounts, including the obligation to advance funds to an escrow account to maintain insurance coverage and to return amounts in an escrow account to a borrower upon payment in full of a mortgage loan. Published elsewhere in today's Federal Register, the Bureau proposes companion regulations implementing amendments to the Truth In Lending Act (TILA) in Regulation Z (the 2012 TILA Servicing Proposal).

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is publishing for public comment a proposed rule amending Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to implement amendments to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The proposal would implement statutory changes made by the Dodd- Frank Act to Regulation Z's current loan originator compensation provisions, including a new additional restriction on the imposition of any upfront discount points, origination points, or fees on consumers under certain circumstances. In addition, the proposal implements additional requirements imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act concerning proper qualification and registration or licensing for loan originators. The proposal also implements Dodd-Frank Act restrictions on mandatory arbitration and the financing of certain credit insurance premiums. Finally, the proposal provides additional guidance and clarification under the existing regulation's provisions restricting loan originator compensation practices, including guidance on the application of those provisions to certain profit-sharing plans and the appropriate analysis of payments to loan originators based on factors that are not terms but that may act as proxies for a transaction's terms.

On July 9, 2012, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) published on its Web site and transmitted to the Federal Register a notice requesting comment on, among other things, proposed changes to Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to implement amendments to the Truth in Lending Act made by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that expand the types of mortgage loans that are subject to the protections of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA) (the HOEPA Proposal). The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2012. See 77 FR 49089 (Aug. 15, 2012). The proposed rule set a comment deadline of September 7, 2012. In a separate rulemaking published on the Bureau's Web site on July 9, 2012 and published in the Federal Register on August 23, 2012 (see 77 FR 51116 (Aug. 23, 2012)), the Bureau proposed changes to the definition of the finance charge, which would result in a simpler, more inclusive definition of the finance charge (TILA-RESPA Integration Proposal). In light of these proposed changes, the HOEPA Proposal seeks comment on whether and how to account for the implications of a more inclusive finance charge on the scope of HOEPA coverage. Although the TILA-RESPA Integration Proposal set an initial comment deadline regarding the proposed changes to the finance charge definition of September 7, 2012, by separate notice, the Bureau is extending that deadline to November 6, 2012. For the same reasons discussed in that notice, the Bureau has determined that an extension of the comment period until November 6, 2012 for the portion of the HOEPA Proposal regarding whether and how to account for the implications of a more inclusive finance charge on the scope of HOEPA coverage is appropriate. This extension does not apply to any other aspect of the HOEPA Proposal.