CFPB notice of revised CHARM booklet

The CFPB has published a notice at 85 FR 35292 in today's Federal Register to announce the availability of an updated version of the "Consumer Handbook on Adjustable Rate Mortgages" booklet, also known as the CHARM booklet, required under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) implemented by Regulation X and the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) implemented by Regulation Z. This version of the CHARM booklet is updated to align with the Bureau's educational efforts, to be more concise, and to improve readability and usability.

New features include a comparison table that describes adjustable rate mortgages and their differences in relation to fixed-rate loan products; an explanation of how an adjustable rate mortgage works; a tutorial on how to review an ARM Loan Estimate and a lender's ARM program disclosure; a comparison table for the various adjustable and fixed-rate loan offers that reader has received or will receive; and a description of the risks that come with different types of adjustable rate mortgages. This update of the CHARM booklet eliminates references to LIBOR.

Creditors may begin using the updated version of the CHARM booklet at once, or first exhaust their current supply. When reprinting the booklet, the most recent version should be used.