May 2012 – Consumer Financial Services Watch

U.S. Supreme Court Ends the RESPA Section 8(b) Debate: It Takes Two to Tango

May 25 2012

By: Holly Spencer Bunting, Phillip L. Schulman

The split in the federal Circuit Courts over the interpretation of Section 8(b) of RESPA has been resolved, and the result is that it takes two to tango for a Section 8(b) violation. In a decision made on May 24, 2012 in Freeman v. Quicken Loans, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that a charge for settlement services must be divided between two or more persons to constitute a violation of Section 8(b). This is welcome news for settlement service providers, who can rest assured that their own prices, whether as part of a mark-up of a third-party fee or their own unilateral charges, cannot violate Section 8(b) of RESPA. Read More

CFPB Proposes Strict Controls on Discount Points, Origination Fees, and Broker Compensation

May 16 2012

By: Kris D. Kully

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering putting strict limits on a creditor’s ability to price its mortgage loans, and on a consumer’s ability to choose among pricing options.

By way of implementing the far-reaching provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the CFPB is proposing to require that when a creditor pays a mortgage loan originator’s compensation (which includes most mortgage loan transactions), any up-front amounts the consumer pays for the loan must be in the form of bona fide discount points that reduce the interest rate or a flat origination fee that does not vary with the loan amount.

FTC Mobile Payments Workshop: Providers Are Poised to Take Steps Forward. How Will Regulators Respond?

May 02 2012

By: Eric Mitzenmacher

On April 26th, the FTC gathered private sector representatives, regulators, and academics for a workshop to discuss the state of the mobile payment industry. Some commentary has interpreted regulators’ comments at the workshop to be a signal that regulators intend to use a “light touch” as the industry matures, but the phrase only partially hits the mark. Read More

Archive:May 2012