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46 | TH E M R EP O RT SERVICING THE LATEST O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T Providing Certainty for Mortgage Servicers The CFPB recently issued an interim final rule and a proposed rule to its mortgage-servicing communication policies. L ast month, the Consumer Financial Pro- tection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interim final rule and a proposed rule in an effort to amending mortgage-servicing communication policies issued in 2016. The interim final rule gives servicers a longer, 10-day window to provide the modified notices. The bureau believes that this change offers, "greater certainty for servicers' ability to comply with the rule, without undermining important borrower protections." The proposed rule on periodic statements amends to certain Regulation Z mortgage servic - ing rules issued in 2016 relating to the timing for servicers to transition to providing modified or unmodified periodic statements and coupon books in connection with a consumer's bankruptcy case. In 2016, the bureau issued changes to the mort - gage servicing rules that required servicers to send written notices referred to as early intervention notices to certain consumers at risk of foreclosure who have requested a cease in communication under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. According to the CFPB, under this law con - sumers were given the option to request compa- nies stop contacting them except with "limited purposes." However, the bureau is concerned that this miscommunication doesn't provide servicers enough "flexibility regarding when to commu - nicate about foreclosure prevention options with borrowers who have requested a cease in com- munication." CFPB Director Richard Cordray said these actions should make it easier for mortgage bor- rowers to receive timely information from their mortgage servicers about available options for saving their home, even if they have submitted a request to cease communication. "In addition, we are proposing changes to clear up confusion about when to provide periodic statements with important loan information to borrowers in bankruptcy," Cordray said. The bureau is seeking comment on this rule and will consider whether to revisit it in the future. LOCAL EDITION Ocwen Responds to Regulatory Leading Action Resolutions Recent agreements bring resolutions to a total of 21 states. TEXAS // Last month, Ocwen Financial Corporation announced it has entered into an agreement with Texas to resolve regulatory actions, bringing the number of states it has reached agreements with to 21. In April 2017, multiple state business regulators issued regulatory enforcement orders to subsidiaries of Ocwen to address "mishandling of consumer escrow accounts and a deficient financial condition," according to an April news release from the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks. The cease and desist orders were made after several years of examinations and monitoring. Under the agreements, terms include details such as Ocwen not acquiring any new residential mortgage servicing rights until April 30, 2018; developing plans to transition to a new servicing system; and not engaging an auditor to perform an escrow review of between 8,000 and 10,000 loans. However, the release also notes that Ocwen did not admit or deny liability in these settlements and none of the agreements contain any monetary fines or penalties. "Ocwen is pleased to have reached a resolution with Texas, which brings the total number of states where we have reached a resolution to 21. We continue to work cooperatively with the remaining 10 state regulatory agencies and two state Attorneys General to reach acceptable resolutions." MARCH