TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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THE LATEST SERVICING much of the past six months drafting rules to reform the mortgage finance system and "bring greater transparency and accountability to mortgage ser- vicing," according to the agency. The CFPB is the first govern- The CFPB has also spent ment agency established to pro- tect consumers in the financial marketplace. "Consumers deserve to be treated fairly and to have someone stand on their side when they are not," CFPB Director Richard Cordray said in a statement. As for the agency's progress so far, Cordray said, "The CFPB has used the tools at our disposal for the benefit of consumers in the past year, and we pledge to continue to do so as we work to promote a transparent, fair, and competitive consumer financial marketplace." However, the agency, which Incoming Complaints About Mortgage Loans Hits 55K A mid-year report from the government housing sector shows that borrowers with mortgage-related issues comprise 43 percent of all complaints. T and lately, the agency released its semi-annual report for 2012 highlighting its achievements in the first half of this year. What do the numbers say? For he Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently passed its one-year anniversary, and enacting enforcement actions when businesses do not comply. The bureau accepts consumer complaints through its website, and by phone, mail, and fax. Some of the top consumer starters, the consumer bureau has received more than 55,300 com- plaints between July 2011 and June 2012, according to the report. The CFPB, which now consists of 889 staff members, has spent the past six months conducting research on various consumer financial products, building and initiating plat- forms for consumer complaints, supervising and regulating financial entities, and preparing 50 | THE M REPORT complaints include inability to modify or refinance mortgage loans, inability to refinance or consolidate student loans, confu- sion regarding credit scores, and confusion regarding various terms of credit. The greatest single source of complaints, making up 43 per- cent of all complaints made to the CFPB, fell on mortgages. A little more than half of the complaint, it informs the com- pany involved. The company has the opportunity to respond to the complaint, and the consumer may then either accept or dis- pute the company's response. As of the date of the report, When the CFPB receives a suit challenging its constitutionali- ty. The lawsuit has been headlined by two conservative groups and a lone community banker from Texas, who suggests the CFPB holds too much power over who qualifies for home loans. In June, public interest group Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the CFPB to gather more information on Cordray's appointment to his post, which was performed by the president without Senate approval. Industry experts have also mortgage-related complaints had to do with problems consumers encountered when they were un- able to make monthly payments. monitoring consumer complaints, the CFPB is reaching out to con- sumers through its Know Before You Owe campaign, which aims to make consumer finance products easier for consumers to understand. 44 percent of company responses were accepted by consumers. Seventeen percent were disputed, and the remaining 40 percent of complaints were awaiting consumer reaction. In addition to accepting and warned of the CFPB's potential harm to the nation's economy. Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute, estimates the agency has already cost the economy 150,000 jobs because of its impact on the cost of con- sumer credit. In a recent congressional was established by the highly con- tentious Dodd-Frank Act, has met with considerable opposition as it works toward its intended goal. The CFPB currently faces a law- testimony, Calabria expressed his concern that the CFPB's struc- ture "reduces transparency and accountability." He urged that "diligent and constant congres- sional oversight is badly needed." SECONDARY MARKET ANALYTICS SERVICING ORIGINATION