Top Story Lending Related

HUD has announced the filing of a charge of discrimination against a Georgia couple for refusing to rent an apartment they owned to a single mother and her son. HUD’s investigation alleges the landlords denied one woman’s application because she had a 14-year-old son and that they had a “NO CHILDREN” stipulation in multiple lease agreements with other tenants. “It’s quite simply against the law to deny a person housing simply because they have children living with them,” said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD will continue to take enforcement action whenever the rights of families are violated.”

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has released a list of enforcement actions recently taken against national banks, federal savings associations, and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with national banks and federal savings associations.

• A former loan officer at Fidelity Bank of Florida, NA, Merritt Island, FL, consented to the issuance of an order for removal and prohibition and for assessment of a $7,500 civil money penalty for unspecified infractions.
• Business Bank of Texas, NA, Austin, TX, was issued an order to cease and desist in connection with unspecified BSA/AML compliance program and loan portfolio management deficiencies.
• The former Chief Executive Officer of Golden Pacific Bank, NA, Sacramento, CA, was notified of a hearing on whether an order should be issued for prohibition, for restitution of $29,973 and for assessment of a $25,000 civil money penalty in connection with alleged use of his bank's credit card for personal use, which, among other things, caused the bank to violate Regulation O.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is proposing to add a new part to its rules to enhance the resilience and the safety and soundness of federally chartered and licensed financial institutions by addressing concerns relating to the exercise of default rights of certain financial contracts that could interfere with the orderly resolution of certain systemically important financial firms. Under this proposed rule, a covered bank would be required to ensure that a covered qualified financial contract (1) contains a contractual stay-and-transfer provision analogous to the statutory stay-and-transfer provision imposed under Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act and in the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and (2) limits the exercise of default rights based on the insolvency of an affiliate of the covered bank. In addition, this proposed rule would make conforming amendments to the OCC's Capital Adequacy Standards and the Liquidity Risk Measurement Standards in its regulations. The requirements of this proposed rule are substantively identical to those contained in a notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on May 3, 2016.

The proposal has been published at 81 FR 55381 in today's Federal Register. Comments on the proposal are due by October 18, 2016.

The CFBP Student Loan Ombudsman has released a report finding that consumers complain of servicing problems that make it difficult to get lower student loan payments tied to their income. Student loan borrowers seeking to take advantage of income-driven repayment plans with their federal student loans complain to the CFPB about prolonged processing delays and wrongful rejections by their student loan servicers. The Bureau also posted an article with tips for students who are trying to enroll in an income-driven student loan repayment plan.

A joint press release from the banking members (FRB, FDIC and OCC) of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has announced the availability of data on small business, small farm, and community development lending reported by certain commercial banks and savings associations, as required by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). An FFIEC disclosure statement on the reported 2015 CRA data, in electronic form, is available for each reporting commercial bank and savings association. The FFIEC also has prepared aggregate disclosure statements of small business and small farm lending for all of the metropolitan statistical areas and nonmetropolitan counties in the United States and its territories.

The Federal Reserve System has posted data on charge-off and delinquency rates on loans and leases at commercial banks for the second quarter 2016.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that three Dallas-area auto dealers have agreed to pay a $85,000 civil money penalty to settle charges that they violated a Commission administrative order barring them from deceptively advertising the cost of buying or leasing a car. The FTC’s complaint cited a TV ad targeted at people with major credit problems, such as repossessions or foreclosures. The ad touted vehicles for $250 per month, but in fine print disclosed that the offer was based on a 4.25 annual percentage rate that few, if any, consumers with such major credit issues could obtain. In addition, the FTC alleged that the dealers advertised credit and lease terms without clearly and conspicuously disclosing information required by federal law, and failed to keep records required by the 2014 order.

HUD has announced it will speed federal disaster assistance to the State of Louisiana and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to severe storms and flooding. HUD is assisting the state of Louisiana and local governments in re-allocating existing federal resources toward disaster relief, granting immediate foreclosure relief, making mortgage insurance available, making insurance available for both mortgage and home rehabilitation, and offering Section 108 loan guarantee assistance.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's FIL-56-2016, issued yesterday, announced the release of updated technical assistance videos on the Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgages Rule. The updated videos provide financial institution management, compliance officers, and staff with resources for a better understanding of the current requirements of the Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgages Rule. The updated videos can be accessed HERE, in the FDIC's Directors' Resource Center pages.

The CFPB has posted a second version of its recent "Overview of the HMDA final rule" video for those who do not have YouTube access. It can be found under the Videos heading on the Bureau's HMDA rule implementation page.