RESPA Lawyer BlogMarx Sterbcow will appear Saturday, August 29th, 2015 on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe with Radio Host Jo Garner from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM CST on WREC 600 AM on iHeart Radio. The topic is “Ask The Expert–How the New Real Estate Lending Guidelines Affect You.”
Articles Posted in THE CLOSING DISCLOSURE (Combined HUD-1 and TILA forms)
Marx Sterbcow to speak at the Midwest TRID and Compliance Summit in Kansas City
Marx Sterbcow, the managing attorney, of the Sterbcow Law Group, has been invited to speak to the Kansas Land Title Association, Mortgage Bankers Association of Greater Kansas City, and Missouri Land Title Association‘s Midwest TRID and Compliance Summit on September 23, 2015 in Kansas City, Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium, Tower Club East, One Arrowhead Drive, Kansas City, MO 64129.
The presentation “Vendor Management and the Secondary Market” will discuss the secondary market investors expectations for settlement agents and how you should be monitoring your third party and fourth party vendors.
Mr. Sterbcow will then moderate a Lender Panel where he will ask TRID and Vendor Management questions to Kate Steineman from Wells Fargo, Ruth Battle from Central Bank, and Amy Prater from Bank Midwest to help title agents understand what they need to do to get ready for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure implementation date on October 3, 2015.
TILA-RESPA “TRID” Enforcement Delay Announced by CFPB
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “CFPB” announced today they will delay “enforcement” of the new Truth In Lending-RESPA Integrated Disclosure “TRID” rule for an undefined period of time. Over two hundred members of Congress were pushing for an enforcement delay until December 31, 2015 but the CFPB did not place a definitive time frame for compliance thus leaving the date that CFPB enforcement starts very murky.
The CFPB also said they will apply a standard of “sensitivity” in their TRID enforcement oversight with companies who provide “good-faith efforts” to comply with TRID. However, the Bureau failed to define what “sensitivity” or “good-faith efforts” actually mean and how they will be applied.
The enforcement delay is certainly a good step because the CFPB clearly heard from the industry that a number software companies were unable to get their lending customers ready in time. The American Bankers Association recently conducted a study which said that 8 out of 10 bank members couldn’t verify when their software system would be ready or were informed their software system wouldn’t be ready before June. The Loan Originator System “LOS” troubles were discussed in a blog post we did in January.
MARX STERBCOW AND CHARLES CAIN TO PRESENT AT THE 2015 NATIONAL SETTLEMENT SERVICES SUMMIT “NS3” CONFERENCE ON VENDOR MANAGEMENT FOR TITLE AGENTS
Marx Sterbcow, Managing Attorneyat Sterbcow Law Group, and Charles Cain, Of Counsel to Sterbcow Law Group and Senior Vice President to WFG National Title Insurance Company, will speak at the 2015 National Settlement Services Summit“NS3” Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on June 9, 2015. The presentation “Who’s Your Vendor? Vendor Management for Title Agents” will provide in-depth analysis and guidance on how title agents can understand and monitor the risks associated with their vendor relationships. We will discuss third party vendor management expectations originating not just from the OCC/FFIEC/FDIC/CFPB but from the secondary market on closing and settlement providers.
MARX STERBCOW INVITED TO SPEAK AT THE 2015 REAL ESTATE SERVICES PROVIDERS COUNCIL ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Marx Sterbcow, managing attorney of the Sterbcow Law Group, and Jaime Kosofsky, Partner with Brady & Kosofsky, will speak at the Real Estate Service Providers Council “RESPRO” Annual Conference in San Diego, California’s Andaz Hotel on April 21, 2015.
The presentation “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Helping Your Retail Staff Understand the New Regulations” will discuss whether companies sales associates, loan officers, and settlement agents are familiar with the new TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures “TRID”, RESPA Section 8 responsibilities under TRID, and other regulatory compliance logistic changes. The session will provide guidance on how to educate your retail staff on their new regulatory responsibilities in order to improve company-wide compliance and to enable them to better explain the new procedures to their clients.
TILA-RESPA implementation deadline triggering warning signs for industry
The TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule’s implementation date is beginning to cause heightened concern and worry for those involved in the residential lending industry. One reason is the emerging news that a number of the 3rd party vendors engaged to write the loan originator system “LOS” software may not be able to do so until April, May, June, or even worse that some of the LOS systems that are rolled out may not be in compliance when the residential lender implements the LOS into their system. One reason for the delay by these vendors is that they were busy designing and creating other software to address the Qualified Mortgage “QM” rule that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014 and only now are the turning to the TILA-RESPA integration.
Kate Larson, Regulatory Counsel, with the Consumer Bankers Association wrote an article for InformationWeek on the “2015 Banking Regulatory Outlook” on Jan. 7, 2015 in which she stated “Despite their diligent efforts, many of our members are concerned their systems will not be ready by the August 2015 deadline because of the limited number of vendors in the market.”
The downstream impact of a delayed LOS system integration is causing many banks and mortgage bankers to have to reassess their risks associated with their third party vendor management compliance obligations with respect to the TILA-RESPA Rule. Many banks and mortgage bankers to whom we have spoken will only be utilizing one title vendor because they are concerned about the integration timeline and do not want to be left shut down in whole or in part on or after August 1st, 2015 as a result of spreading their compliance across to many vendors.
There are simply to many lenders, banks, credit unions, mortgage brokers, and others who are relying on the limited number of mortgage software companies to integrate the new TILA-RESPA LOS system. Several of the TILA-RESPA disclosure task force groups we serve on are sensing real concern by the various trade associations.
On the title side of the business, many of the title software companies have finished or are finalizing their software systems to address the compliance of their title vendors. However, finalization of these systems depend on the mortgage LOS systems integration, testing that integration, and educating the employees of both the lenders and title vendors.
The CFPB has been adamant that they will not delay the implementation date of this rule and even if by some miracle the CFPB suspends enforcement for 6 months (similar to what HUD did with the 2010 RESPA Reform Rule) this will not provide sufficient safeguards because the secondary market may not purchase loans that are not in compliance with new TILA-RESPA Rule. In sum, if something is out of compliance then the lenders face claims by investors that they have violated the reps. and warrants under their repurchase agreements, thus leaving them exposed to future mortgage buy-back claims.
We are hearing that a few of the biggest banks will be completely ready by the end of Feb. 2015 as they went in-house and designed their LOS systems due to concerns about meeting the implementation rule deadline. However, let’s hope the 3rd party LOS software companies can get their systems in place, integrated & tested with their title vendor(s), and all the staff trained well in advance of August 1st, 2015.
Continue reading
Wells Fargo announces RESPA-TILA Integrated Disclosure Form Plans
Wells Fargo announced that effective August 1, 2015 it will control the generation and delivery of the borrower’s Closing Disclosure form in anticipation of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule. The new Closing Disclosure is a mix of the existing Truth-in-Lending (TIL) disclosure and the Settlement Statement (HUD-1). Wells Fargo stated in the Wells Fargo Settlement Agent Communications newsletter on September 24, 2014 they will be taking over this process in order to meet internal compliance and governmental regulator compliance expectations on the bank.
Wells Fargo said the reason they will be delivering the Closing Disclosure Form is because they want to maintain evidence the borrower received the disclosure at least three days prior to the closing since this is a critical compliance requirement they must meet. The bank disclosed that having readily accessible data for internal and external compliance audits was another major reason for this decision.
Wells Fargo disclosed that their view under the new rules is “…that the settlement agent continues to be responsible for the Seller’s information and will prepare and deliver the Seller’s Closing Disclosure. A copy must be provided [by the Settlement Agent] to Wells Fargo for our loan file in order to comply with the final rules.”
Marx Sterbcow achieves the AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
New Orleans, LA (PR Newswire) August 29, 2014 – Martindale-Hubbell® has confirmed that attorney Marx David Sterbcow has been given an AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell’s highest possible rating for both ethical standards and legal ability.
The AV Preeminent rating is an objective indicator designed to help buyers of legal services identify, evaluate and select the most appropriate lawyer. The reviews are based on evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in North America. AV Preeminent® (4.5-5 out of 5) is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.
Mr. Sterbcow and his firm have had an extensive real estate and financial services law practice since the firm was founded in 2004. He represented the National Association of Mortgage Brokers in its suit against the Federal Reserve Board and has litigated matters involving RESPA, mortgage fraud, and antitrust in several federal jurisdictions. Mr. Sterbcow is also listed to Superlawyers and New Orleans Magazine’s Top Lawyers.
2014 REGULATORY OUTLOOK: COMPLIANCE, ENFORCEMENT, AND PRESSURE POINTS WEBINAR
The Dodd-Frank Update and The Legal Description legal publications at October Research, LLC have teamed up to host a 90-minute federal regulatory outlook webinar for mortgage, title insurance and settlement services professionals. This in-depth training features two top compliance attorneys who will educate participants on significant regulations impacting the industry in 2014. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 from 2:00-3:30 PM EST.
Speakers Mitch Kider, of Weiner Brodsky Kider PC, and Marx Sterbcow, of The Sterbcow Law Group, will define significant regulations, what companies should be doing now to prepare and what the regulatory landscape will look like as we move into yet another year of complying with thousands of pages of new and existing regulations. Topics will include:
•CFPB enforcement actions: Who’s at risk and what to expect;
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency releases Vendor Management Bulletin
On October 30, 2013, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency “OCC” issued a bulletin on “Risk Management Guidance” which will have wide ranging implications for all vendors of national banks and federal savings associations. The bulletin provides new guidance for assessing and managing compliance risks associated with third-party relationships. A 3rd party relationship is any business arrangement between a banks and another entity, by contract or otherwise.
3rd party relationships include activities that involve outsourced products and services, use of independent consultants, networking arrangements, merchant payment processing services, services provided by affiliates and subsidiaries, joint ventures, and other business arrangements where the bank has an ongoing relationship or may have responsibility for the associated records. Affiliate relationships are also subject to sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act (12 USC 371c and 12 USC 371c-1) as implemented in Regulation W (12 CFR 223). Third-party relationships generally do not include customer relationships.
The OCC stated that it “expects a bank to practice effective risk management regardless of whether the bank performs the activity internally or through a third party. A bank’s use of 3rd parties does not diminish the responsibility of its board of directors and senior management to ensure that the activity is performed in a safe and sound manner and in compliance with applicable laws.”
The OCC released the bulletin in response to the on-going concern that banks were continuing to increase the number and complexity of third party relationships with both foreign and domestic 3rd parties. Specifically they highlighted:
(1) outsourcing entire bank functions to third parties, such as tax, legal, audit, or information technology operations;
(2) outsourcing lines of business or products;
(3) relying on a single third party to perform multiple activities, often to such an extent that the third party becomes an integral component of the bank’s operations;
(4) working with third parties that engage directly with customers;
(5) contracting with third parties that subcontract activities to other foreign and domestic providers;
(6) contracting with third parties whose employees, facilities, and subcontractors may be geographically concentrated; and (7) working with a third party to address deficiencies in bank operations or compliance with laws or regulations.
The OCC is concerned that the quality of risk management over third-party relationships may not be keeping pace with the level of risk and complexity of these relationships. The OCC has identified instances in which bank management has:
(1) failed to properly assess and understand the risks and direct and indirect costs involved in third-party relationships.
(2) failed to perform adequate due diligence and ongoing monitoring of third-party relationships.
(3) entered into contracts without assessing the adequacy of a third party’s risk management practices.
(4) entered into contracts that incentivize a third party to take risks that are detrimental to the bank or its customers, in order to maximize the third party’s revenues.
(5) engaged in informal third-party relationships without contracts in place.
These examples represent trends whose associated risks reinforce the need for banks to maintain effective risk management practices over third-party relationships.
Continue reading