Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 328 Largest Ever Redlining Settlement Under the Fair Hous- ing Act. HUD settled claims against Associated Bank in a redlining case under the FHA, requiring the bank to invest $200 million in increased mortgage lending and loan purchasing in heavily minority communities. Circuit Split on TILA Resolved. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year that borrowers need only provide written notice to lenders within the three-year rescission period provided in TILA in order to preserve their rescission rights. The Court resolved a circuit split, as many lower courts had held that a borrower must file a lawsuit within the three-year period to preserve their rights. Decision Issued in First Appeal of CFPB Administrative Action. On June 4, CFPB Director Cordray issued a decision in the first-ever appeal of a CFPB administrative enforcement action. He affirmed in part and reversed in part an administrative law judge’s November 2014 rec- ommendation, which held that a lender violated RESPA by accepting kickbacks (in the form of reinsurance pre- miums) for loans reinsured through an affiliate. Director Cordray affirmed the judge’s liability determination, but significantly increased the disgorgement amount, requir- ing the lender to disgorge $109 million. Financial Institutions Continue to Agree to Major Settle- ments to Resolve Recession-Era Allegations. MetLife Home Loans LLC Settles FCA Claims for $123.5 Million. In February, the DOJ secured a $123.5 FCA settlement with MetLife Home Loans LLC. As is typical in these actions, the DOJ alleged that MetLife originated FHA loans with material underwriting errors, deficient quality control, and inadequate managerial oversight, resulting in insur- ance claims being paid by the government. CFPB Settles with Green Tree Servicing, LLC for Over $60 Million. The CFPB and Federal Trade Com- mission (FTC) secured a settlement against Green Tree Servicing, LLC, stemming from allegations that Green Tree failed to recognize previous mortgage modifications, demanded payments without provid- ing loss-mitigation alternatives, and engaged in other allegedly improper collection and loss mitigation activities. Looking Ahead to 2016 The CFPB is likely to continue focusing on RESPA en- forcement, as the agency has suggested that it believes that Marketing Service Agreements can constitute illegal “kickback” arrangements. One new area of enforcement and litigation may be the implementation of the CFPB’s new TRID rule (or the “Know Before You Owe” rule), which became effective on October 3 and makes significant changes to mort- gage disclosure form requirements. There is still no for- mal grace period for compliance with TRID, although the CFPB announced that initial compliance examinations will focus on whether companies have made a “good- faith” effort to comply, and that certain violations can be cured even after closing. The CFPB suggested that its TRID approach would mimic its early enforcement of the 2014 mortgage servicing rules. Those rules are also like- ly to change in 2016 because the CFPB plans to finalize its proposed rules amending Regulation X (implementing RESPA) and Regulation Z (implementing TILA) later this year. The most significant proposed change would in- crease the number of times that servicers must provide certain borrowers with foreclosure protection through loss mitigation, further delaying the foreclosure process. In addition, the FHA provided new guidance, in the form of taxonomy, to lenders on what it believes constitutes a defect in a loan. The FHA’s expressed hope is that greater transparency will encourage lending to low-in- come borrowers, but only time will tell if the FHA’s new guidance has that effect. MORTGAGE CREDIT CARDS AUTO LOANS TELEPHONE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT CONSUMER FINANCIAL & PROTECTION BUREAU STUDENT LENDING DEBT COLLECTION What to Watch Continued focus on RESPA | FHA encouragement of low-income borrower lending | TRID Implementation