Search Results: Mortgage Orientation or Servicing

CFPB Reports on Consumer Complaint Trends

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its annual report analyzing the consumer complaints it received in 2024.  The CFPB collects complaints through its website, phone calls, and mail.  It also receives referrals from the White House, congressional offices, and other federal and state agencies.  The CFPB then directs…

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Portions of New York’s FAPA Survive Constitutional Challenges

Over the last four months, New York’s Appellate Division has finally begun to address constitutional challenges to the state’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (FAPA), an act that became effective in December 2022 and promptly generated disparate trial court interpretations about whether the law was supposed to apply retroactively.  As noted…

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51 State Financial Regulatory Agencies Enter Settlement and Consent Order with Nonbank Mortgage Servicing Companies

​On January 9, 2025, 51 State Financial Regulatory Agencies (the “Agencies”) announced a coordinated consent order and settlement agreement with nonbank mor​tgage servicing companies (the “Companies”). This action came following a data breach that impacted 5.8 million customers, allegedly due to deficient cybersecurity practices, and for lack of cooperation with state regulators. The Companies are licensed as…

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Constitutionality of Shortened Time Limits on New York Foreclosures Still Unresolved

On September 12, 2024, New York’s highest court dismissed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of the retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act (“FAPA”), a law that amended certain New York rules to strictly cabin the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures.  The Court of Appeals, on its own motion,…

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CFPB Enters Into Consent Order with Mortgage Lender to Resolve Allegations of Deceptive Conduct Toward Veterans and Servicemembers

​​On August 29, 2024, the CFPB announced that it had entered into a stipulation and consent order with ​​​​a Florida-based mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the mortgage provider ​​had misrepresented the payment terms of​ cash-out mortgage refinance loans​ it offered to servicemembers and veterans. In its consent order, ​the CFPB alleged that the mortgage lender committed ​​deceptive acts or…

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CFPB Enters Into Consent Order With Mortgage Servicer Resolving Allegations of Improper Foreclosure Practices

On August 21, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)​ announced​ that it entered into a consent order with a​ Florida-based mortgage servicer, resolving allegations related to the mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices. ​The consent order​ resolves allegations ​that the mortgage servicer’s foreclosure practices violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536; the…

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CFPB Issues New Rule on Use of Artificial Intelligence Models in Mortgage Lending

On June 24, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had approved a new rule about the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) for home appraisals and valuations. The new rule was promulgated by the CFPB, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National…

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CFPB Settles with Nonbank Mortgage Originator for $4 Million

On June 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has filed a proposed order that would require a Florida-based nonbank mortgage loan originator to pay a $3.95 million penalty for allegedly submitting incorrect loan data to federal regulators.   In an October 2023 complaint, the CFPB accused the mortgage originator of…

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Minnesota Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Realtor and Associated Business for Predatory Contracting

On May 14, 2024, the Minnesota Attorney General announced that it had filed a lawsuit against a realtor and several companies that he owns, claiming that the Defendants used deceptive trade practices to market illegal contracts for deed, in violation of several state and federal laws, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Minn….

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California Federal Court Bans Mortgage Operators as Result of Joint FTC and DFPI Case

​On February 2, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order permanently banning several companies and their owners from the telemarketing and debt relief businesses and requiring them to pay approximately $19 million in restitution and civil money penalties​.  This order came as a…

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Awaiting Appellate Precedent on Whether Recent New York Foreclosure Limits Are Constitutional

Over a year after becoming law, New York’s Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, L. 2022, ch. 821 (eff. Dec. 30, 2022) (FAPA) continues to divide trial courts regarding the constitutionality of the law’s retroactive application.  Appellate level guidance remains wanting. FAPA amended certain New York rules related to the time limits…

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CFPB and DOJ Sue Land Developer Over Allegations of Discriminatory Lending

​On December 20, 2023, the CFPB announced that, along with the DOJ, it had filed suit against a Texas-based developer and lender for operating an allegedly illegal land sales scheme that targeted Hispanic borrowers. ​The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges that the lender sells…

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CFPB Files Complaint Against Mortgage Originator For Allegedly Inaccurate HMDA Reporting

On October 10, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint​ against a residential mortgage loan originator and servicer alleging that the company violated the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), its implementing Regulation C, the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), and a recent 2019 consent order​. The company allegedly reported HMDA…

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CFPB Takes Enforcement Action Against Mortgage Lender and Real Estate Brokerage for RESPA Violations

On August 17, 2023, the CFPB announced that it had taken enforcement action against a Florida-based mortgage lending and servicing corporation, as well as a New York-based real estate brokerage firm, issuing consent orders against the businesses for “exchanging things of value return for mortgage loan referrals”, in violation of Section 8(a)…

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New York Courts Split on the Constitutionality of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act

In the six months since New York’s governor signed the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, L. 2022, ch. 821 (eff. Dec. 30, 2022) (FAPA), a split has emerged about whether the law applies retroactively. FAPA strictly cabins the time limits for commencing mortgage foreclosures by amending five New York procedural rules…

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NJ AG Enters into Consent Order with Mortgage Servicer

On July 1, 2023, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection (Division) entered into a consent order with a national mortgage servicer. According to the Division’s press release, the company, which was formerly licensed in New Jersey before relocating to Florida, had violated the state’s consumer protection laws in…

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Massachusetts Division of Banks Enters into Consent Order with Mortgage Lender

On January 26, 2023, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (DOB) entered into a consent order​ with a California-based mortgage lender. According to the DOB, the company, which was licensed as a mortgage lender in Massachusetts, had allowed a separate company to use its government issued mortgage license number, which could mislead consumers into…

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