California DFPI Seeks Several Comments on Draft Regulations, Including Debt Collection Licensing Act

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) continues to seek comments on the recently enacted California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) and the Debt Collection Licensing Act (DCLA).

MBA: Mortgage Delinquencies Fell Nearly 5.5% In 2Q 2021

Mortgage delinquencies fell in the second quarter of 2021, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today, with the delinquency rates for FHA and VA loans posting the largest quarterly decline in the history of its survey.

How student loan debt grew to $1.6T and what can debtholders do to reduce theirs

Since 2003, the total national student loan debt surged by 602.5% to nearly $1.7 trillion, according to educationdata.org. Even adjusted for inflation, Americans’ total student debt grew 389.5% in that same time. The average student loan debt was about $36,900 for the graduating class of 2021, the data showed. That's an average monthly payment of about $433, and an increase of 76% from the graduating class of 2000. 

Mortgage refinance loans drove an increase in closed-end originations in 2020, new CFPB report finds

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data report  on residential mortgage lending trends released today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finds that the total number of closed-end originations as well as applications increased substantially between 2019 and 2020. Closed-end originations (excluding reverse mortgages) increased in 2020 by 65.2 percent, from 8.3 million in 2019 to 13.6 million in 2020. Most of the increase was driven by the refinance boom observed in 2020. The data point also notes that, while the number of financial institutions reporting 2020 HMDA data declined compared to 2019, the number of closed-end records in 2020 increased compared to the previous year. While mortgage activity generally increased, year over year, significant differences between demographic groups persisted, including higher interest rates and denials among Black and Hispanic consumers in the mortgage market.

Over 323,000 Federal Student Loan Borrowers to Receive $5.8 Billion in Automatic Total and Permanent Disability Discharges

Over 323,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability (TPD) will receive more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges due to a new regulation announced today by the U.S. Department of Education.  The change will apply to borrowers who are identified through an existing data match with the Social Security Administration (SSA). It will begin with the September quarterly match with SSA.

What are the federal student loan limits for the 2021-22 school year?

When it comes to financing a college education, federal Direct loans are a good first choice. They come with a relatively low 3.73% interest rate, as well as federal protections like economic hardship deferment and income-driven repayment plans. But Direct loans can be restrictive, since you can only borrow up to a certain amount during the course of your studies. 

Fintechs have a fraud problem with their Covid relief loans

New York (CNN Business)Fintech lenders helped speed the delivery of forgivable government loans to small businesses crushed by the pandemic. But these tech-savvy lenders may also have opened the door to widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer money.

DFPI Monthly Bulletin and Collector Licensing Requirement by December 31

California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation provides a monthly bulletin. August announces the promotion of Melinda Lee to Deputy Commissioner for Debt Collector Licensing Division. It also discusses Debt Collector licensing, which requires Debt Collectors to be licensed in California. From their bulletin: "All debt collectors must submit an application for registration on or before Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, to continue operating in 2022, pending approval or denial of the application (Fin. Code § 100000.5(c)). Failure to submit an application by the Dec. deadline would preclude a debt collector from operating until the issuance of a license (Fin. Code §§ 100000.5, 100001(a)).

The Bureau continues to fight to help alleviate housing insecurity through its Tech Sprint Program

I am pleased to announce that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will participate in the Census Bureau’s The Opportunity Project (TOP)  “The World Post COVID-19” tech sprint program. The program’s six tech sprints will focus on post-pandemic challenges. The CFPB is partnering with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to lead a tech sprint on post-pandemic housing challenges.

CFPB Takes Action Against Debt Collector for Failing to Investigate Reports of Identity Theft and Misrepresenting Consumers’ Debts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) yesterday filed a proposed settlement to resolve a lawsuit against a debt collection enterprise and its owner. The CFPB alleges that Fair Collections & Outsourcing (FCO) violated federal law by failing to establish or implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information it furnished to credit reporting agencies and failed to conduct reasonable investigations of indirect consumer disputes, resulting in inaccurate information remaining on consumers’ credit reports. The CFPB also alleges that FCO and its owner, Michael Sobota, violated federal law when FCO represented that consumers owed certain debts when, in fact, FCO did not have a reasonable basis to assert that the consumers owed those debts. If entered by the court, the settlement would require FCO and Sobota to put in place reasonable policies and procedures to prevent future violations and pay a $850,000 civil money penalty.

Home loan sizes remain near record highs

he latest statistics show people in the housing market have decided to go big in order to go home. The size of loans that people are seeking is near record highs. Overall, demand for mortgage applications declined 3.9% from the prior week as mortgage rates increased, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Banker's Association. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1% from one week earlier. "Despite a second-straight weekly decrease, average loan sizes remain close to record high," said Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

T-Mobile confirms that personal data of over 40 million customers was stolen by hackers

T-Mobile confirmed Tuesday that the personal information of 47.8 million people was stolen in a data breach on Monday. Records from 7.8 million current T-Mobile customer accounts were taken along with 40 million records of former or prospective customers, the company said.

CFPB: Older Mortgage Borrowers Struggle Making Payments in COVID-19 Era

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has negatively affected American seniors both in terms of the more dangerous health effects of the illness itself, as well as the ability of older, traditional mortgage borrowers to make their payments on time. As a result of the pandemic, many older homeowners are at greater risk of losing homes to foreclosure, according to new data released this week by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Student debt is so inescapable that even those who made payments during the pandemic freeze still owe more money than they originally borrowed

President Joe Biden recently extended the freeze on student-loan payments that was set to expire in September to give borrowers an additional four months of pandemic relief. But for those who used the freeze to pay off their debt, many of them couldn't even make a dent in the amount they initially borrowed.

HUD and FHFA raise the focus on fair lending

In an interesting announcement last week, HUD and FHFA issued a joint MOU (memorandum of understanding) that enhances efforts to synchronize fair lending policy, enforcement and investigatory activities. This is a rare instance where HUD and the regulator of the GSEs have publicly agreed to attempt to synchronize efforts on such a major policy effort.

Ten Years After Dodd-Frank Passage CFPB To Issue Section 1071 Regulations in September

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently issued an order setting September 30 as the deadline for the CFPB to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on small business lending data based on Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.  Section 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to require financial institutions to collect, maintain, and report to the CFPB data on credit applications made by women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.  Such data includes the race, sex, and ethnicity of the principal owners of the business, and would be used to facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws and to help better identify the business and community development needs of these types of entities.  The order follows a complaint that was filed in 2019 alleging the wrongful delay by the CFPB in adopting regulations to implement Section 1071.  The deadline comes as a result of a stipulated settlement agreement reached in 2020, which established a timetable for the CFPB to engage in Section 1071 rulemaking.

The 10 U.S. states with the most credit card debt

Americans started 2021 with nearly $900 billion in credit card debt. And that amount is projected to increase by $60 billion by the end of the year, according to WalletHub, a personal finance website. To determine the states with the highest and lowest amounts of credit card debt, WalletHub looked at average credit card balances and payments made since September 2020, using data from credit reporting agency TransUnion, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Census Bureau.

CFPB Report on Servicers’ COVID-19 Response Signals Enforcement Priorities

On August 10, 2021, the CFPB’s Office of Supervision Policy published a report titled Mortgage Servicing COVID-19 Pandemic Response Metrics: Observations from Data Reported by Sixteen Servicers (“Servicing Metrics Report”).

Pamela Murphy Earns Fred Kirschner Instruction Achievement Award

Rochester, N.Y. – Continental Service Group, Inc., d.b.a. ConServe is proud to announce that Pam Murphy, Vice President of Compliance & Privacy Officer was recognized and received the Fred Kirschner Instruction Achievement Award for conducting 75 seminars at the 2021 ACA International Annual Convention held in Las Vegas, NV on July 30, 2021.

Here’s the average student loan debt of borrowers ages 62 and older

It’s probably no surprise that the oldest cohort of student loan borrowers — those ages 62 and older — are also the smallest group. Still, the roughly 2.3 million borrowers in this age group carry a substantial amount of student loan debt. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education’s Q4 2020 data, borrowers in this age group have an average balance of $37,739.13. This is higher than what 25- to 34-year-olds fresh out of college carry ($33,817.56).

Today’s Mortgage Rates — August 16, 2021: Rates Up for 2 Popular Loan Options

Average mortgage rates are up for some loans and down for others today. If you are thinking about buying a home, it's a good idea to monitor how rates are trending so you can decide if it's a good time to apply for a mortgage loan.

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