Top Story Lending Related

The Federal Reserve has released the results of the January 2017 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey (SLOOS). The survey included up to eighty large domestic banks and twenty-four U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks. The survey revealed that bankers have been tightening credit for commercial real estate loans and consumer loans in the last three months while slightly easing up on their credit standards for home mortgages.

The FDIC has released a list of 49 state nonmember banks recently evaluated for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the ratings they received. Five were rated Outstanding, 43 received a Satisfactory rating, and one was rated Needs to Improve.

OFAC has announced the imposition of sanctions against multiple entities and individuals involved in procuring technology and/or materials to support Iran’s ballistic missile program, as well as for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. For additional information see our OFAC update.

In an Executive Order issued on Friday, President Trump has declared seven "Core Principles" for regulation of the U.S. financial system: promoting independent consumer choices, preventing bailouts, fostering economic growth, promoting international competitiveness, advancing U.S. interests in international negotiations, tailoring regulations and ensuring regulatory accountability. The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury to meet with the heads of the other members agencies of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to review how "existing laws, treaties, regulations, guidance, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and other Government policies promote the Core Principles and what actions have been taken, and are currently being taken, to promote and support the Core Principles." An initial report to the president is due within 120 days.

Although the Dodd-Frank Act is not mentioned in the Order, it is generally seen as the most obvious target of the review. There is no clear vision of the outcome of the review, although several provisions of the Act, including the structure and funding of the CFPB, the Durbin Amendment (interchange fee limits on debit card transactions), and the Volcker Rule (restrictions on proprietary trading by banks) are seen as likely focuses of the ordered study.

The CFPB and the Attorney General of Virginia have announced the filing of a complaint and a proposed consent order in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia against Woodbridge Coins and Jewelry Exchange, Inc., doing business as Woodbridge Gold & Pawn, for deceiving consumers about the actual annual costs of its loans. The CFPB found that Woodbridge misled its customers about the costs of their loans by disclosing deceptively low annual percentage rates (APRs) that did not reflect all of the fees and charges tacked onto the loans. These inaccurate disclosures in many cases understated the true annual percentage rate by as much as half of the actual cost. If approved by the court, the proposed order would require Woodbridge Gold & Pawn to pay $79,000 in consumer relief and penalties and end deceptive disclosures.

The FFIEC has posted the following notice dated 2/1/17 in the "What's New" column on its HMDA webpage: "The 2017 FFIEC Census File (and forward) will use the 2015 ACS 5 year estimates as a basis for the file." The notice also includes a link to a ZIP file list of the Metropolitan Statistical Area/Metropolitan Division (MSA/MD), state, county, tract and income level indicators that will be included in the 2017 FFIEC Census file.

The OCC has released the ratings received by 20 national banks and federal savings associations recently evaluated for compliance with the provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Two institutions were rated outstanding and the other eighteen received a satisfactory rating.

The Federal Reserve has released November 2016 G.20 finance companies data regarding owner and managed receivables outstanding and auto loans credit terms.

The CFPB has taken action against Prospect Mortgage, LLC, a major mortgage lender, for paying illegal kickbacks for mortgage business referrals. The CFPB also took action against two real estate brokers and a mortgage servicer that took illegal kickbacks from Prospect. Under the terms of the action announced today, Prospect will pay a $3.5 million civil penalty for its illegal conduct, and the real estate brokers and servicer will pay a combined $495,000 in consumer relief, disgorgement, and penalties. See "Kickbacks cost Prospect Mortgage $3.5 million" for details on the Bureau's findings and consent orders.

The CFPB has posted an article with information to assist consumers decide on the right down payment amount when purchasing a new home.