A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal to allow financial services providers and trade groups to apply for advisory opinions would help bring more certainty to the regulatory process, credit union trade groups said last week.
A coalition of consumer groups warned that the proposal would circumvent the regulatory process that is designed to protect consumers.
The “modest” fee increase on the refinancing of mortgages will help Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae continue to weather the coronavirus economic crisis, while still helping homeowners who need the help the most, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae officials said this week.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week agreed to extend the period for comments on how it can better enforce the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
The original deadline was Oct. 2; the new deadline is Dec. 1.
The National Credit Union Administration granted its first new federal charter of the year to Growing Oaks Federal Credit Union in Goldsby, Oklahoma.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Id.) wants to know why the Federal Housing Finance Agency—amid a financial crisis– is imposing new fees on homeowners who are refinancing their mortgages.
“Many housing market stakeholders have highlighted the potential negative impact the announced pricing increase will have on consumers seeking to access this benefit by increasing the average cost of refinancing,” Crapo wrote in a letter late last week to FHFA Director Mark Calabria.
As pressure builds on the FHFA to reverse its 0.5% fee, the president of the Cooperative Credit Union Association pointed out that the two Government Sponsored Enterprises affected—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—posted large profits in the second quarter of the year.
Financial institutions are unlikely to face official enforcement actions if they commit small, isolated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act or Anti-Money Laundering rules, federal banking regulators, including the National Credit Union Administration, said last week.
National Credit Union Administration Board member J. Mark McWatters may have given his farewell comments during the board’s July meeting, but the Republican may not be going anywhere for a little while longer.
The Senate officially left town this week for its August recess without voting on McWatters’ replacement, Kyle Hauptman. The Senate is not expected to return until Sept. 8 unless negotiators reach a deal on the coronavirus crisis stimulus legislation.
Wednesday’s “surprise” announcement that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will impose a new 0.5% fee on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinance mortgages will hurt homeowners struggling through the coronavirus economic crisis and will harm efforts to help the economy recover, a broad coalition of credit union, banking, housing and consumer groups said Thursday.
Borrowers—not financial institutions—are responsible for accurately calculating their payroll costs as they apply for loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program, the Small Business Administration said this week.
Certain loans modeled after the National Credit Union Administration’s Payday Alternative Loan program are exempt from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new payday loan rule, while others may not be, the CFPB said in a series of questions and answers about the new rule on Tuesday.
The agency reiterated that division, as it attempted to answer questions about the new rule.