Stringent new ability-to-pay requirements for reverse mortgages insured under HUD’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program go into effect on April 27, 2015. The new rules require HECM mortgagees to perform an in-depth financial assessment before making an HECM, far beyond what is required under current law. The new requirements are in response to a…

The CFPB has issued a final policy statement providing guidance on how the agency will publish online “consumer complaint narratives” about financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets.  Background. The CFPB launched its “Consumer Complaint Database” in June of 2012. The database publishes online data about consumer complaints about several types of financial…

The final regulatory capital rules permit most financial institutions to continue the current practice of excluding Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) from their regulatory capital calculations. However, to continue excluding AOCI, an institution must voluntarily opt out by March 31, 2015. The federal banking agencies anticipate that “virtually all community institutions will elect” to opt…

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Department of Labor (DOL) 2010 Administrator's Interpretation, which concluded that mortgage loan officers do not qualify for an exemption to the overtime pay and minimum wage requirements in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, Nos. 13-1041 and 13-052 (March 9, 2015).  Background. The DOL…

The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (EGRPRA) requires four of the federal banking agencies — the FFIEC, FDIC, FRB, and OCC — to review their regulations at least once every ten years to identify outdated, unnecessary, and unduly burdensome regulations. As part of their review, the agencies are requesting written comments…

On October 1, 2014, the CFPB and the Federal Reserve Board hosted a third webinar on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures Rule, which goes into effect on August 1, 2015. The webinar reviewed the new Loan Estimate, line by line, addressing concerns from the financial industry and from technology vendors. The Federal Reserve has posted a…

MasterCard has announced changes to its zero liability policy applying to MasterCard debit cards that become effective October 17, 2014. The changes were announced in a press release, but details about the changes are not publicly available. However, based on reports about the MasterCard revisions, we believe that Regulation E change in terms notices are…

On August 26, 2014, the CFPB and Federal Reserve Board co-hosted a webinar on frequently asked questions about the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule, which goes into effect on August 1, 2015. The webinar is the second in a planned series to help explain the rule and its procedural requirements. The webinar addressed recurring issues and…

The CFPB has issued a final rule to adjust certain dollar amounts for rules in Regulation Z and Regulation M. The adjustments are effective January 1, 2015. Regulation Z and Regulation M Exemption Threshold The exemption threshold for both Regulation Z and Regulation M was increased to $54,600 (12 CFR 1026.3(b)). Consumer credit and leases over the…

FinCEN’s Proposed Customer Due Diligence Requirements The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a proposed rule adding new customer due diligence (CDD) requirements, including a requirement to identify the beneficial owners of commercial account customers. The proposal stems from FinCEN’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking from March of 2012. Though FinCEN held five public…