What You Need to Look for with the CFPB’s Forthcoming Rulemaking Activities

Regulatory and rulemaking actions were just released for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions for Fall 2022. It’s worth noting that six of the ten rulemaking topics assigned to the CFPB are new. It’s also significant that the Bureau has introduced rulemaking specific to nonbanks, along with deep dives into protecting consumers from credit reporting agencies, flawed home valuations, fees charged by depositories, and other possible discriminatory concerns.

A close look at current rulemaking is always warranted, and this session is no different as we start to see Director Chopra’s direction for the Bureau. If ongoing rulemaking signifies anything, it’s that your operation needs the ability to identify, ingest and implement CFPB rules quickly and effectively. Even the CFPB acknowledges that this is best accomplished through automation and innovation. Clarifire understands this importance and delivers a proven approach to meeting the recently published CFPB rulemaking challenge, as well as future rulemaking activities.

A full list of the Fall 2022 rulemaking actions assigned to the CFPB follows. Don’t let the breadth alarm you, as only some of these actions directly impact mortgage bankers, including servicers. A partnership with Clarifire will help you understand what applies and help you navigate the best solution.

Prerule Activities

• Overdraft Fees – Proposed amendment to Regulation Z in terms of considering overdraft fees and services by financial institutions that have the potential to result in unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) violations.
• Fair Credit Reporting Act Rulemaking – Consideration of whether or not to amend Regulation V in follow-up to the Bureau’s Annual report of credit and consumer reporting complaints issued earlier this month. Rulemaking would address corrective measures to reduce erroneous data and shore up loose controls identified through complaints lodged against the top three national consumer reporting agencies (NCRAs), Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
• Required Rulemaking on Personal Financial Data Rights – Assess rulemaking as related to section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, requiring financial service providers to enable consumer access to information. This includes transaction activity, costs, charges, and usage data relative to the financial product or service provided.
• Fees for Insufficient Funds – The consideration of new rulemaking pertaining to Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) fees charged by depository institutions.

Proposed Rule Activities

• Amendments to FIRREA Concerning Automated Valuation Models – The CFPB has proposed rulemaking to protect home buyers and homeowners from appraisal inaccuracies resulting from the use of Automated Valuation Models (AVMs). Positioned based on feedback from the Small Business Advisory Review Panel and outlined in a report issued early last year, the CFPB is proposing a “fifth factor,” which is “a requirement that covered institutions establish policies, practices, procedures, and control systems to ensure that their AVMs comply with applicable nondiscrimination laws.” Rulemaking is intended to mitigate mortgage appraisal risk under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA).
• Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing – Under extended authority, the Bureau is looking at ability-to-repay and civil liberty requirements pertaining to Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) lending transactions.
• Nonbank Registration – Nonbank Covered Persons Subject to Certain Enforcement Orders – In December, the CFPB announced its proposal to register nonbank court orders and companies if subject to “certain local, state, or federal consumer financial protection agency or court orders.” These orders and company information would be published on an online registry. Additionally, an individual would be designated at larger companies to ensure adherence to enforcement orders.
• Nonbank Registration – Terms and Conditions – The Bureau intends to set forth terms and conditions for creating a central repository of nonbanks with outstanding agency or court orders. This repository would then be used by the CFPB to monitor and track adherence to actions and orders, thus minimizing further risk to the industry and consumers.
• Credit Card Penalty Fees – Creation of a proposed amendment to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility Act in terms of credit card penalty fees, extending to safe harbors that might also apply.

Final Rule Activities

• Small Business Lending Data Collection under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act – The Bureau is close to finalizing rulemaking that implements requirements and guidance for small business lending credit data collection for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses, specifically as outlined under section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. This includes restrictions on what data is collected and who has access to the data.

Alleviate the Chaos with CLARIFIRE^®

Is your organization prepared to understand and implement these rules as applicable? Whether you’re a nonbank or other covered entity, forthcoming CFPB rulemaking will certainly have some impact on your operational processes, from credit reporting, AVMs, and PACE loans to electronic data access on the products and services you offer. There’s no time to waste as the CFPB has fully embraced rulemaking practices, utilizing the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) process, along with continued consumer research designed to identify and mitigate UDAAP risk to the consumer through regulation and oversight.

No matter what the anticipated CFPB rules indicate or where they impact your organization, let CLARIFIRE® automate the processes and complex decisioning, dynamically distribute activities, and add visibility. CLARIFIRE is uniquely designed to simultaneously meet the demands of the CFPB and your consumers by providing 24/7, real-time self-serve access to the processes, internal controls, and governance required. Creating seamless servicing driven by proven innovation, CLARIFIRE alleviates the chaos that ongoing regulation drives. Find out how CLARIFIRE is truly BRIGHTER AUTOMATION^® by calling 866.222.3370 or visiting us at eClarifire.com.

Jane Mason | @janemasonceo

Jane has applied her vast experience (over 25 years) operating process-driven businesses to successfully redefine client-focused service. Jane has worked with expert programmers to apply cutting-edge web-based technology to automate complex processes in industries such as Financial Services, Healthcare and enterprise workflow. Her vision confirms Clarifire's trajectory as a successful, scaling, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider. A University of South Florida graduate, Jane has received many awards related to her entrepreneurial skills.

 

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