MBA Sees Originations Increasing 7% in 2015

CONTACT:     Shawn Ryan sryan@mba.org (202) 557-2727    

MBA Sees Originations Increasing Seven Percent in 2015

Washington, DC (October 21, 2014) – The Mortgage Bankers Association announced today that it expects to see $1.19 trillion in mortgage originations during 2015, a seven percent increase from 2014.  While MBA anticipates purchase originations will increase 15 percent, it expects refinance originations to decrease three percent.   MBA’s forecast predicts purchase originations will increase to $731 billion in 2015, up from $635 billion in 2014.  In contrast, refinances are expected to drop to $457 billion, from $471 billion, in 2014.    For 2016, MBA is forecasting purchase originations of $791 billion and refinance originations of $379 billion for a total of $1.17 trillion. “We are projecting that home purchase originations will increase in 2015 as the US economy continues on its current path of stronger growth, job gains and declining unemployment.  The job market has shown sustained improvement this year; with robust monthly increases in both payroll jobs and job openings,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Research and Industry Technology.  “We are forecasting that strong job growth, coupled with still low mortgage rates, should translate to an increase in home sales and purchase originations. “Our projection for overall economic growth is 2.9 percent in 2015 and 2.4 in 2016, which will be driven mainly by strong consumer spending and business fixed investment, as households continue to spend on durable goods, such as cars and appliances, and as businesses invest in new plant and equipment.  Moreover, after several years of contraction, the rate of government spending should no longer be a drag on the economy. “We expect that the 10-Year Treasury rate will stay below three percent through the first half of next year as concerns about broader global issues have caused a flight to quality, with investors seeking safety in US Treasury securities.  However, if the global turmoil diminishes and US economic growth continues, we anticipate the rate will exceed three percent in the second half of 2015, continuing to increase through 2016.  We expect the Federal Reserve will keep short-term rates near zero until mid 2015, when we expect to see the first fed funds rate increase. “We forecast that monthly job growth will average 220,000 per month in 2015, and that the unemployment rate will decrease to 5.4 percent by the end of 2015 and 5.2 percent in 2016.  While part of the decrease in the unemployment rate in 2014 has been driven by lower labor force participation, we have seen payroll growth outpace population growth and a declining number of unemployed workers.  Our anticipation is that as the economy grows, more workers may return to the work force to seek employment, and this will temper the decline of the unemployment rate. “With the recent drop in mortgage rates, some borrowers now have an incentive to refinance and with the home price gains of the last two years more homeowners have enough equity to refinance, so we expect a pickup in refinance application activity over the next few months, which will lead to higher refinance originations in early 2015,” Fratantoni said. MBA upwardly revised its estimate of originations for 2014 to $1.11 trillion from $1.01 trillion, and for 2013 to $1.85 trillion from $1.76 trillion, to reflect the most recent data reported in the 2013 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data release.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, REITs, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site: www.mba.org.

 

 

Mortgage Action Alliance Newsletter

Congress left town last week, having passed a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government funded into December, and will return for a lame-duck session one week after the November midterm elections. Before adjourning, the House passed a package of Dodd-Frank fixes that included MBA-supported changes to the Ability to Repay rule and its calculation of “points and fees.”Also last week, MBA President and CEO David H. Stevens was joined by MBA’s Chairman-Elect Bill Cosgrove, CMB and Vice Chairman Bill Emerson, as well as other industry leaders, at a meeting with senior Obama administration officials and executives from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to discuss ways to expand access to mortgage credit.

Key MBA Actions

House Passes Package of Dodd-Frank Fixes, Including ATR “Points and Fees

This past Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5461, a package of four bills aiming to amend the Dodd-Frank Act. The legislation, which passed by a vote of 327 to 97, combined four separate bills that had previously passed either the House or Senate in an overwhelming fashion. One of the included bills was H.R. 3211, the Mortgage Choice Act, which would fix the way “points and fees” are calculated under the CFPB’s Ability to Repay (ATR) rule, to ensure more loans receive the legal protections afforded to Qualified Mortgages. MBA worked with its member companies and sister trades to send a letter to House members, which helped to advance this legislation to the House floor and ensured its passage. Members of the Mortgage Action Alliance (MAA) also weighed in strongly by contacting their Representatives in support of the bill. H.R. 5461 now moves to the Senate for further consideration. MBA and MAA will continue to push for a vote on this legislation when Congress returns after the November midterm elections.

MBA and Industry Trade Groups Urge CFPB to Provide Authoritative Guidance on RESPA–TILA Implementation; CFPB also Set to Host New Informational Webinar

MBA and more than one dozen industry groups submitted a letter last week asking the CFPB to increase its outreach efforts ahead of implementation of the RESPA–TILA Integrated Disclosure rule on August 1, 2015. The letter, while recognizing the efforts the Bureau has made through webinars and other channels, echoed previous MBA sentiment that, due to the complexity of this and other rules, the Bureau should provide reliable, written guidance developed with input from stakeholders on outstanding issues. The letter also asked that the CFPB continue its participation in industry conferences and forums related to the implementation of the rule, provide more exemplar forms for a variety of transactions, work with vendors to ensure they are ready for the August 1 deadline, and that the Bureau review duplicative and contradictory state laws which threaten to add complexity to the implementation of the integrated disclosures. Relatedly, the CFPB will be holding a new webinar on Wednesday, October 1 from 2:00–3:30 PM Eastern to address the rule’s loan estimate form, with a focus on questions raised by technology vendors. To participate you will need to be registered. In advance of the webinar, MBA will be collecting, compiling, and providing to the CFPB outstanding questions on the integrated disclosures.

MBA Submits Comments on FHFA Strategic Plan

Last Monday, MBA submitted comments on the single-family and multifamily components of FHFA’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2015-19. On the single-family side, MBA urged FHFA to focus on policies that expanded borrowers’ access to credit. Noting that many first-time homebuyers and low-to-moderate income borrowers are being priced out of the market, MBA identified several specific priorities that would help accomplish this goal: implementation of MBA’s deeper, up-front risk-sharing proposal; moving the GSEs to issue a common, fungible, TBA-eligible single security to improve liquidity; and revision of the rep and warrant framework to provide lenders with needed clarity. MBA also strongly argued that the recently proposed Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) membership limitations be abandoned because they would significantly undermine the FHLB system, causing further harm to the housing market. On the multifamily side, MBA urged FHFA to underscore the importance of multifamily rental housing and the GSEs’ role in providing liquidity and stability, as well as to consider additional strategic steps to continue strengthening the market.

FHFA OIG Issues Report on Rep and Warrant Framework; MBA Preparing Response to Report’s Conclusions

In additional FHFA news, the Agency’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report last week critical of FHFA’s recent efforts to clarify the GSEs’ rep and warrant framework. The report argued that the GSE quality control systems are insufficiently prepared for the changes that were announced, and that as a result the GSEs will assume greater risk than under the current framework. MBA believes that the OIG’s conclusions are mistaken and is preparing a formal response to the report. MBA has committed to leading the effort with FHFA and the GSEs to provide lenders with needed clarity and key reforms of the rep and warrant framework, to help FHFA fulfill its statutory mission of facilitating a liquid, stable, resilient national housing market. Expanding the credit box is critical to making the housing recovery a sustainable one, and the lack of clarity on lenders’ rep and warrant liability is directly responsible for the credit overlays that are preventing many borrowers from obtaining a mortgage.

FHA Releases Draft Loan Quality Assessment Methodology

FHA posted a draft of its Loan Quality Assessment Methodology for feedback. This Methodology is one part of FHA’s Blueprint for Access strategy announced earlier this year, which aims to expand access to mortgage credit for underserved borrowers. Generally, the Methodology is based on three core concepts: identifying a loan defect; capturing the sources and causes of the defect; and assessing the severity level of the defect. MBA has been working closely with FHA for the past year to design processes to improve transparency and consistency in FHA’s loan quality assessments and will continue to do so with regard to this Methodology.

 

Free Webinar — TILA/RESPA Rule

The CFPB has informed us that the Federal Reserve will be hosting a 90 minute webinar to answer frequently asked questions about the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule on Wednesday, October 1 at 2:00pm EDT. This will be the third in a series of webinars that have been held to address the new rule as interested stakeholders work to implement it over the next year. In this session, they will specifically address the loan estimate form with a focus on questions raised by technology vendors.

To register for the webinar, please click here:  http://www.philadelphiafed.org/bank-resources/publications/consumer-compliance-outlook/outlook-live

 

 

Mortgage Action Alliance Newsletter

Key MBA Action

TRIA Reauthorization Bill Passes in Senate Last Thursday the Senate, by a vote of 93-4, passed S. 2244, The Terrorism Risk Insurance (TRIA) Reauthorization Act of 2014. If enacted, S. 2244 would reauthorize TRIA for seven years while making modest reforms to the existing program. Earlier in the week, MBA President and CEO David H. Stevens sent a letter of support for S. 2244 to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and issued a statement following the Senate vote. The TRIA reauthorization process now moves to the House of Representatives, where the Republican leadership is currently attempting to garner support for a competing TRIA reauthorization proposal, authored by Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hansarling (R-TX).

MBA Pushes Back on FHFA OIG Report that Questions Recent GSE Purchase Mix FHFA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report last week indicating that GSE purchases of mortgages from their largest counterparties have declined significantly since 2011, and that smaller lenders have considerably increased direct sales to the GSEs. MBA believes this is a positive development, which the Association has supported with policy positions that call for fair and competitive markets for lenders of all sizes and business models (e.g., guarantee fees based on loan quality, not volume or asset size).

Unfortunately, the OIG report inexplicably concludes that the shift to “smaller and nonbank lenders” may increase the GSEs’ exposure to counterparty risk and raised costs for managing this risk. The report’s narrative ignores the significant risks that the GSEs took through their aggregation models, and the OIG’s “findings” defy basic principles of risk management — that diversification of business partners lowers the GSEs’ and the taxpayer’s risk, period. Taxpayers, the GSEs and most of all, consumers, benefit from a strong, diversified market where lenders of all sizes and business models can constructively and fairly participate. MBA will be preparing a detailed rebuttal to the OIG report to set the record straight on the important benefits that a more competitive and diversified seller base has had on the GSEs.

MBA Files Comment Letter on FHA’s HAWK Program, Suggests Changes to Further Help Borrowers Last Monday, MBA filed a comment letter with FHA on the Homeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK) housing counseling program, which would provide first-time homebuyers who receive HUD-certified counseling with FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) reductions. MBA believes that the current FHA premium structure is pricing many otherwise qualified borrowers out of the market, and in its comments MBA congratulated FHA for its initiative with HAWK, but suggested that the program be restructured to offer borrowers greater material reductions in their monthly payments by shifting proposed reductions in the upfront MIP to the annual MIP. On a $200,000 loan — assuming a four percent base note rate, 30-year term, financing of the upfront MIP, and that the borrower completes all counseling and makes all payments within program guidelines — MBA’s alternative proposal would save a borrower $15,369 over the full 30-year life of the loan as compared to savings of $12,834 over the same time period under FHA’s HAWK proposal. MBA’s comment also expressed concern with several other aspects of the FHA proposal, including its requiring of lenders to bear the cost of some portions of the counseling, the utility of post-closing counseling, and the limiting of the initial phase of the HAWK program to lenders and servicers selected by FHA.

MBA Submits Letter to CFPB, Offers Thoughts on Proposed Changes to Annual Privacy Notice Requirement MBA submitted a comment letter to the CFPB last Monday, regarding its proposed amendments to the annual privacy notice requirement under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. In the letter, MBA strongly supported the CFPB’s efforts to reduce the burden and costs to the industry associated with providing annual privacy notices, while recognizing the importance of clearly disclosing to consumers a financial institution’s policies for the treatment and sharing of nonpublic information. While supportive, the letter also expressed concern that the ability to post a privacy policy online in certain circumstances — rather than send annual notices — will not be as widely available as it should be. MBA then went on to suggest that any notice that complies with Regulation P should be qualified to use the proposed amendment’s alternate delivery method if the financial institution is otherwise eligible.

CFPB Proposes Expanding Complaint Database to Include Consumer Narratives The CFPB is seeking comments on a proposed policy statement that would add “unstructured” consumer complaint narratives to the CFPB’s publicly available consumer complaint database concerning consumer financial products and services. According to the Bureau, only the narratives for which they have obtained consumer consent, which have then additionally been scrubbed to remove personally identifiable consumer information, would be posted. In addition, under the proposal, lenders would be free to post public responses to consumer complaint narratives as long as they did not contain personally identifying information. MBA has consistently and strongly opposed efforts by CFPB to release unverified information of this type, as it would be costly to the market and consumers alike. Comments on the proposed policy are due 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register, and MBA intends to provide an official comment.

FHA Gives Final Extension on Recertification Filing Deadline In response to issues many lenders have experienced completing the annual recertification process through the Lender Electronic Assessment Portal (LEAP), FHA has provided a final extension of the recertification filing deadline for Title I and Title II lenders and mortgagees with the following fiscal year end dates: December 31, 2013; January 31, 2014; February 28, 2014; and March 31, 2014. The deadline to submit complete recertification packages for this group, including the submission of financial information and annual renewal fees, will now be July 31, 2014.

MBA Compliance Essentials is on the Road with its TILA-RESPA Integration Forums This summer, MBA is coming to a city near you with its traveling TILA-RESPA Integration Forums. These Compliance Essentials Forums provide a day-long deep dive into all of the major implementation issues that companies need to be working on one year prior to implementation. Forum speakers include top-level legal, compliance and technology experts — including a CFPB representative. Upcoming opportunities include next week’s stop in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 23rd; Atlanta on Thursday, July 31st; and Washington, DC on Thursday, August 7th. MBA Member registration starts as low as $500 a person, depending on the date of purchase.

Mortgage Choice Act Passes

 

MBA’s Stevens Comments on the Passage of H.R. 3211, The Mortgage Choice ActWASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2014)–Today, David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), released the following statement on the United States House of Representatives passage of H.R. 3211, The Mortgage Choice Act:“MBA commends the House of Representatives for approving this bipartisan legislation, which excludes from the Qualified Mortgage (QM) definition of points and fees all title charges, regardless of whether they are charged by an affiliated company, provided they are bona fide and reasonable.  Proper implementation of the ability to repay and QM requirements is crucial to allowing credit-worthy consumers to purchase or refinance a home at affordable rates.  MBA looks forward to continuing to work closely with lawmakers as the bill moves to the Senate for consideration.”The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, REITs, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site:  www.mba.org

 

 

Economist Elliot Eisenberg on GDP Growth

While expecting Q1 GDP growth to be revised down to an annualized rate of -2% from the current -1%, expect the Fed to keep tapering on autopilot and reduce it by another $10 billion to $35 billion/month at the conclusion of the June 17-18 meeting. Markets will now be laser-focused on how and more importantly when the Federal Reserve plans to engineer the first increase in short-term rates since 7/06.

Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D.

GraphsandLaughs, LLC

elliot@graphsandlaughs.net

Cell: 202.306.2731

www.econ70.com

Call to Action — Support Mortgage Choice Act

 

Today the House of Representatives will consider the Mortgage Choice Act (H.R. 3211). H.R. 3211 is a bipartisan bill that would make important changes to the way “points and fees” are calculated under the Qualified Mortgage (QM) definition in the Dodd-Frank Act.H.R. 3211 focuses on making two vitally important adjustments to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) definition of points and fees to ensure greater consumer choice in mortgage and settlement services under the QM rule.Dodd-Frank provides that a QM, under its “ability to repay” standards, cannot have points and fees in excess of three percent of the loan amount. This three percent limit on points and fees could have the unintended effect of limiting the availability of affordable mortgage credit, particularly for loans under $150,000.H.R. 3211 endeavors to restore a full and open competitive market by clarifying the definition of fees and points. In doing so, the legislation will ensure consumers have greater access to mortgage credit and also more choices in credit providers. Proper implementation of the ability to repay and QM requirements is crucial to allowing credit-worthy consumers purchase or refinance a home at affordable rates. MBA is asking you to please contact your Representative to urge them to support this important legislation.Please click HERE to go to the MAA homepage and click on the “Take Action” button to get started. If you don’t have, or have forgotten your username and password, click on “forgot password” to retrieve it. Please contact Annie Gawkowski at 202-557-2816 if you need assistance.

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This message is brought to you by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Copyright © 2013 Mortgage Bankers Association.

Q1 2014 AZ State Data Report

Attached please find MBA’s Q1 2014 state data report for Arizona

Q1 2014 AZ State Data Report

Mortgage Alliance Newsletter

Volume VIII | Issue 11 | April 30, 2014  

Yesterday, the Senate Banking Committee began the GSE Reform markup process, but limited the session to opening statements by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-ID). The consideration of more than 100 amendments that have been filed – and how they may be incorporated or not within emerging new text for the bill – will be postponed until a later date that is yet be determined.

In the meantime, MBA is staying actively engaged with the committee leadership and key Banking Committee staff. We have focused our efforts to promote legislation that will create a vibrant secondary mortgage market that ensures a level playing field for lenders of all sizes and business models, and maintains the access to affordable mortgage credit – particularly the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage – that consumers have come to rely upon. We have also worked with the Committee to promote sensible capital requirements, appropriately draw a “bright line” between primary and secondary mortgage market activities, and properly structure the small lender mutual, a member-owned cooperative created by the legislation.

As the Committee’s mark-up progresses, we will keep you informed of the process, the changes contained in the emerging Johnson-Crapo Manager’s Amendment, and the outcome of other key amendments. To read more details from our full alert, click here.

Key MBA Action

MBA and Other Housing Trade Groups Question HUD’s Basis for FHA 2014 Loan LimitsMBA, the National Association of Home Builders, and the National Association of Realtors together sent a letter to HUD this week, asking the Department to release legal opinions developed by its staff related to the establishment of FHA’s 2014 loan limits. Previously, in response to prior MBA inquiries regarding its methodology for setting loan limits, HUD has indicated that when setting loan limits for 2014 for areas between the $271,050 base limit and the new maximum high cost limit of $625,500, HUD followed a legal opinion by its departmental lawyers which says that under the current statute HUD must use median home prices from 2008 or later. MBA strongly disagrees with HUD’s interpretation of the law and believes HUD has additional discretion under the law to moderate or even reverse many of the reductions seen in the 2014 loan limits. MBA believes the release of HUD’s legal opinions would bring greater transparency and allow MBA and others to better evaluate HUD’s basis for many of the 2014 loan limit reductions.

MBA and Other Trades Call for FHA to Revise its Rule on Private Transfer FeesMBA and other trade groups called on HUD to change FHA’s rule on private transfer fees to mirror that of the GSEs. Currently, while the GSEs permit transfer fee covenants where proceeds are delivered to a community association or nonprofit and provide a direct benefit to the property, FHA does not permit them because of its interpretation of its rule requiring free assumability of property.

MBA Sends Letter to FASB Supporting Proposed Classification of FHA Loans in ForeclosureLast week, MBA submitted a comment letter on an exposure draft for a proposed accounting rule change related to FHA-insured loans. The reason for the change is that there is currently diversity in practice on how to classify FHA loans in foreclosure in a reporting entity’s balance sheet. Some classify the asset as real estate owned and others as a receivable. FASB’s proposal would require all reporting entities to account for such assets as receivables — a position MBA supports — since it better portrays the risk associated with the asset. The FHA guarantee allows the creditor to look to the U.S. government for payment, not just proceeds from sale of the underlying property.

FHA Commissioner Gives Interview on FHA’s MIP PolicyCarol Galante, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Housing/FHA Commissioner, was recently interviewed by The Washington Post regarding FHA’s MIP policy. In the interview, which references the letter MBA sent to HUD urging the Agency to reexamine the current MIP structure, Commissioner Galante indicated her belief that it is not yet appropriate to consider rolling back premiums while FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund remains below its statutory cap of two percent. Commissioner Galante’s comments in the interview largely echo remarks she made at MBA’s National Advocacy Conference on April 9th. MBA is continuing to work with HUD and other policymakers to urge them to consider options which would make FHA-insured loans more affordable.

CFPB Holds Forum on Mortgage Closing Process, Issues Report Highlighting Pain Points for Consumers and Guidelines for Participation in Pilot Project to Study eClosingsLast Wednesday the CFPB held a Forum on the Mortgage Closing Process. CFPB Director Richard Cordray was joined by HUD Secretary Shawn Donovan and leaders from FHA, VA and USDA to discuss CFPB’s efforts to reach out to consumers and industry stakeholders in order to identify reoccurring issues with the mortgage closing process. CFPB believes that technological solutions—eClosings—may help with some of these issues and to that end Director Cordray announced a pilot initiative to study how eClosings might alleviate the consumer pain points identified by CFPB. The Bureau issued Guidelines for companies that are interested in participating in the Pilot. Concurrent with the Forum, the CFPB issued a Report on Consumer Pain Points in the Closing Process. MBA staff attended the Forum and participated in a CFPB-led Roundtable the following day. HUD Issues Mortgagee Letter on HECM Non-Borrowing SpousesHUD issued Mortgage Letter (ML) 2014-07 which amends FHA’s HECM program regulations and requirements concerning due and payable status where there is a Non-Borrowing Spouse at the time of loan closing. For case numbers issued on or after August 4, 2014, non-borrowing spouses will be able to remain in their homes and they will no longer need to refinance the HECM loan upon the death of the mortgagor. According to HUD it is using the authority granted to it in the Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013 to immediately implement this policy change, but the agency intends to publish a rule for notice and comment that will revise its existing regulations to codify the changes made through this ML.

MBA Launches New White Paper Member BenefitMBA is pleased to announce the launch of its new “White Paper Posting” membership benefit, offered exclusively to our Premier and Select level Associate Members. White papers will be posted in the Industry Resources section of MBA’s website and an announcement about the white papers will be included in a May issue of MBA NewsLink. MBA encourages applicable members to take advantage of this exciting opportunity to maximize your thought leadership. White papers must follow MBA’s white paper guidelines and will only be accepted in PDF format. They will be hosted on the MBA website or in the form of a website link to a white paper hosted on your company website. Additionally, each applicable company receives two postings (one posting at a time), per membership year. Submissions will be accepted in April and October and will remain posted until the next submission date or the end of the membership term. Please also allow 10-14 business days for posting. MBA’s white paper guidelines must be signed and included along with your white paper submission.

Updates in Brief:

Last week, the CFPB released a new Guide to Completing TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Forms, a companion to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule Compliance Guide recently released. The new Guide provides instructions for completing the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure and also highlights common situations that may arise when completing the forms. To view all CFPB resources available for the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, please click here.

 

 

 

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Arizona Represented at National Advocacy Conference

Just a quick update on the Advocacy efforts of our Arizona Mortgage Professionals whose involvement and dedication make a difference to all of us….

AMLA’s 2014 President, Kelly Powers, attended both the State and Local MBA Annual Conference and the National Advocacy Conference in Washington, and spent April 10th day on Capitol Hill meeting with members of the House and Senate.    There were a total of nine participants representing Arizona on the Hill, including Piero Aviles, Ashley Kendrick, Rich Flanagan, PJ Harrigan, Jamie Korus, Julie Messina, Cody Pearce, and Amy Swaney.The hot topic was of course, GSE reform and specifically the elements of the Johnson-Crapo Bill and HR 2767, otherwise known as the PATH Act.   The Arizona delegation spent time with our Legislators and their staff discussing the many issues facing the industry today, in particular the need to maintain access to credit.

Jamie Korus, AMLA member, was among 15 people representing all segments of the lending community that attended the following meetings:  Mel Watts, Director of the FHFA at the FHFA, Senate Banking Committee (Johnson and Crapo staff),  Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Richard Cordray, Director of the CFPB at the CFPB,  Obama’s Administration in the West Wing of the White House.   The issues they addressed were diverse; they included GSE reform; the Johnson-Crapo Bill;  compensatory fees;  GSE Representation and Warranties;  GSE loan limits; ATR/QM Rule clarity; cures and expansion of credit; supporting FHA’s mission to provide credit to underserved markets;  and QRM alignment with QM.  Jamie’s comments follow:

“The experience as a whole was exceptional. The opportunity to speak directly with policy makers and regulators was unmatched by any other advocacy event I have previously attended. It was also very reassuring to see the warm reception given and obvious relationship that the MBA staff has with all of the people that we met with. It allowed me to see first-hand exactly how well the MBA lobbies and advocates on behalf of all of us, our industry and the consumer.”  

Amy Swaney, Mortgage Acton Alliance Chair, presented at at the National Advocacy Conference Town Hall Meeting on April 9 in Washington DC.    There were over 400  in attendance representing 39 States.   Amy stressed the need for all of us to become involved in order to make our voices heard and our challenges addressed.   She cited the sobering statistic that the National Association of Realtors had over 4000 people participate in their day on the Hill while we had less than 275 represent the Mortgage Industry.   There were eleven States that did not  even attend the conference, nor have they ever!  As an FYI, Arizona has 504 registered Mortgage Action Alliance Members, representing 48 member firms that employee 1315 people. Moral of the story-  GET INVOLVED!!!  Your career depends on it!

As always, AMLA encourages participation among all of our members on both the local and Federal level.  Please contact Kelly Powers at 602-332-3282 if you are interested in taking on this rewarding challenge .