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K&L Gates Consumer Financial Services Group to Present at MBA Legal Issues Conference in San Diego

Apr 28 2014

On May 4-7, 2014 the Mortgage Bankers Association will hold its annual Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference in San Diego, CA. Several K&L Gates partners from the Consumer Financial Services Group will be presenting at the conference.

Melanie Brody will address “A Look Ahead: HMDA and Fair Lending” on Sunday, May 4, at 4:35 pm.

Krista Cooley will participate on a panel on Tuesday, May 6, at 3:15 pm, entitled “False Claims, Indemnifications, Repurchases and Rescissions.” She will discuss how the False Claims Act is affecting participants in HUD’s Federal Housing Administration loan program.

Andrew Glass will speak on Sunday, May 4, at 1:50 pm in the Litigation Forum on Fair Lending, explaining the status of fair lending/servicing litigation, and specifically the status of challenges to the disparate impact rule, the status of the municipal lawsuits against banks for “predatory” lending, and the HUD complaints by NFHA challenging the maintenance of properties held in REO.

Paul Hancock will address fair lending issues on Tuesday, May 6, at 1:30 pm.

Kris Kully will discuss Dodd-Frank Act amendments to RESPA and TILA on the ever-popular “Essentials: Alphabet Soup of Federal Laws,” on Sunday, May 4, at 1:50 pm.

Larry Platt will speak on Monday, May 5, at 3:15 pm on the “Deep Dive” panel for QRM, the Future of the Secondary Market, and GSE Reform.

Phil Schulman will participate on the panel entitled “A Look Ahead: TILA/RESPA,” on Sunday, May 4, at 3:15 p.m., and then will continue the discussion on the integrated disclosure forms on Monday, May 5, at the “Deep Dive: RESPA/TILA” panel at 3:15 pm.

Nanci Weissgold will present on two panels at the conference. On Sunday, May 4, at 12:30 pm, Nanci will present on a panel entitled “Essentials: Servicing Rule,” focusing on the basics of the CFPB’s Mortgage Servicing Rules. Nanci also will provide more insights into the national servicing standards on the “Deep Dive: Servicing: New Rules, New Developments” panel to be held Monday, May 5, at 1:30 pm.

We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

5th Circuit Applies HUD Discriminatory Effects Rule to Fair Housing Act Case

Apr 23 2014

By: Melanie Brody, Anjali Garg*

*Ms. Garg is a law clerk and is not admitted to practice law.

On March 24, 2014, the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. v. Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs applying HUD’s discriminatory effects rule and burden-shifting analysis to a Fair Housing Act claim. This is the first circuit court to apply the rule since it took effect on March 18, 2013. Read More

Beyond Credit Reporting: The Extension of Potential Class Action Liability to Employers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act

Apr 14 2014

By: Brian M. Forbes, Mark D. Pomfret, Robert W. Sparkes, III

Do not be fooled by its title: the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) reaches far beyond the realm of credit reporting and governs a broad spectrum of industries. Indeed, the provisions of FCRA apply to any business entity that seeks to use a “consumer report” – which broadly includes anything from a credit report to a criminal or even motor vehicle background check – for any “employment purposes” (among other purposes). This includes the use of such reports to evaluate an individual for potential employment, as well as to evaluate a current employee for promotion or termination. The consequences of a FCRA violation can be substantial; the statute provides for a civil private right of action and permits recovery of actual damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs. Read More

Federal Agencies Propose AMC Minimum Standards

Mar 28 2014

By: Nanci L. Weissgold, Morey Barnes Yost

The April 9 Federal Register contains the announcement for which the appraisal management industry has been waiting for months: the federal banking and finance regulatory agencies’ proposal of minimum standards for appraisal management companies (“AMCs”). Section 1473 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the agencies – the OCC, FRB, FDIC, NCUA, CFPB, and FHFA (the “Agencies”) -to adopt standards for states to apply in their registration and supervision of AMCs.

Non QM Lending Facilitated by New Fitch Ratings Criteria

Mar 18 2014

By: Laurence E. Platt

Non-QM lending received a big boost this week when Fitch Ratings issued its criteria for analyzing residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) under the Ability to Repay (“ATR”) and Qualified Mortgage (“QM”) rules issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It announced that it would apply a relative “credit enhancement” adjustment (i.e., extra collateralization) to non-QM loans pooled to back RMBS, but the level of credit enhancement reflects its belief that the risk of massive losses on such loans is relatively slight. In reliance upon required third-party due-diligence reviews, Fitch said that it would assume the accuracy of an originator’s designation of loans as “safe harbor” QM loans, higher-priced QM loans or non-QM loans. Read More

CFPB Criticized For Failure to Provide Information Related to Indirect Auto Lending Activities

Mar 10 2014

By: Melanie Brody, Tori K. Shinohara

On Friday, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee wrote a letter to Director Cordray chastising the CFPB for its continued refusal to provide meaningful responses to Congressional requests for information about the Bureau’s supervision and enforcement activities related to indirect auto lending. In the letter, Chairman Hensarling cites five instances of Congressional requests for information related to the CFPB’s indirect auto activities over the past year that have been not been satisfied. He criticizes the Bureau’s “pattern of obfuscation” related to Congressional requests for information and contends that the CFPB has created “unnecessary uncertainty” within the auto lending market. Read More

K&L Gates Legal Insight: We’ve Only Just Begun–Lessons from the CFPB’s First 35 Enforcement Cases

Mar 06 2014

By: Jon Eisenberg

Few agencies have generated as much controversy as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren when she was still a professor and the product of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the agency is charged with being the cop on the beat for consumers much like the SEC is the cop on the beat for investors. Among its goals are preventing consumers from being subject to “deceptive,” “unfair,” and “abusive” practices and holding alleged wrongdoers accountable by bringing enforcement cases against those the CFPB believes have violated consumer financial protection laws. Consumers have flooded it with over 300,000 complaints since the agency began operations less than three years ago, and those have already proven to be a fertile source of information for its examination and enforcement programs.

To read the full alert, click here.

DOL Seeks Supreme Court Review of the Invalidation of its Mortgage Loan Officer Overtime Ruling

Mar 05 2014

By: Thomas H. Petrides, John L. Longstreth

On February 28, 2014 the Department of Labor, represented by the Solicitor General, petitioned for Supreme Court review of an appellate decision invalidating a 2010 DOL administrative ruling that determined mortgage loan officers generally do not qualify for the administrative exemption from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held last July that a prior administrative ruling issued in a 2006 DOL Opinion Letter was established law and that DOL was therefore required to use notice and comment rulemaking to change it. The 2006 Opinion Letter had previously determined that loan officers could qualify for the administrative exemption and therefore would be ineligible for overtime pay based on that exemption. The Solicitor General argues that requiring notice and comment for an interpretive rule in any circumstances is inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act, which exempts interpretive rules from notice and comment requirements, and therefore the 2010 interpretation should be reinstated. The petition also argues that the D.C. Circuit decision is inconsistent with the rulings of at least two other federal appeals courts. Read More

CFPB Continues to Target Mortgage Servicing

Feb 27 2014

By: Soyong Cho, Kerri M. Smith

At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo last week, CFPB Deputy Director Steven Antonakes issued a strongly-worded warning that the CFPB will continue to vigorously monitor and investigate the mortgage servicing industry. Deputy Director Antonakes stated that the CFPB will rely on its newly adopted Mortgage Servicing Rules (the “Rules”) and Sections 1031 and 1036(a) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), which prohibit unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (“UDAAP”). In his speech, Deputy Director Antonakes recounted problems that had been observed in mortgage servicing and admonished that “the fundamental rules have changed forever” and that “business as usual has changed in mortgage servicing.” Specifically, the Deputy Director explained the CFPB’s expectations of servicers: Read More

Global Government Solutions® 2014 Annual Outlook

Feb 24 2014

K&L Gates is pleased to announce the publication of its Global Government Solutions® 2014 Annual Outlook.

Our seventh edition of the Global Government Solutions® series highlights increased government involvement in global commerce and provides the latest regulatory information corporate leaders need to navigate the intersection of business and government. The K&L Gates Global Government Solutions® 2014 Annual Outlook is a collection of 50 insightful articles to help you do just that, including:

Former U.S. Congressmen Bart Gordon and James T. Walsh on congressional deadlock
The European Union as a business partner
A more aggressive Securities and Exchange Commission
New hedge fund regulations
International trade negotiations
Resources nationalism in emerging nations
Tax reform
Competition and compliance risks for government contractors

To view the report, click here. For more information on our Global Government Solutions® practice, please visit our website.

Author - nkolen