All in Regulatory Update

CFPB Reminds Creditors of the No Surprises Act

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update, FCRA

On 1/13/22, the CFPB released a bulletin reminding debt collectors and credit bureaus of their legal obligations in light of the No Surprises Act, which protects consumers from certain unexpected medical bills. The bulletin advises credit bureaus that the accuracy and dispute obligations imposed by the FCRA apply with respect to debts stemming from charges that exceed the amount permitted by the No Surprises Act.

CFPB Sues for Illegal Debt Collection Practices

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On 1/10/22, the CFPB sued United Debt Holding (UDH), JTM Capital Management (JTM), United Holding Group (UHG), and their owners, Craig Manseth, Jacob Adamo, and Darren Turco, for illegal debt-collection practices. The Bureau alleges that the defendants placed consumer debt with, or sold consumer debt to, collection companies that used unlawful and deceptive collection tactics. Based on CFPB’s statement, the defendants knew, or should have known, the collection companies made false threats and false statements to consumers.

MLA Database to Add Certain Cadets and Midshipmen

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update, MLA

On 12/27/21, the Department of Defense issued a notice to the public of a scheduled change to the Military Lending Act (MLA) Database. Effective February 1, 2022, cadets and midshipmen attending Military Service Academies of the Armed Forces, who are covered borrowers under the MLA, will be added to the population of covered borrowers identified in the MLA database. This is actually a correction of an error in the database's original development.

FHFA Acting Director’s Statement on Climate Change

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update

On 12/27/21, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued a statement by its Acting Director, Sandra L. Thompson, regarding climate change. According to Thompson, ​​ FHFA recognizes that climate change poses a serious threat to the U.S. housing finance system and as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), FHFA is committed to working collaboratively with other federal agencies to make tangible progress toward addressing climate change and its consequences.

2022 HMDA Exemption Threshold

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update, HMDA

On December 23, 2021, the CFPB adjusted the HMDA exemption threshold from $48 million to $50 million. The adjustment is based on the 4.7 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2021 (up from 1.6 in 2019 and 1.3 in 2020). Therefore, banks, savings associations, and credit unions with assets of $50 million or less as of Dec. 31, 2021, are exempt from collecting data in 2022.

Escrow Exemption Threshold for 2022

Adam Witmer
Regulatory Update, Regulation Z

On December 23, 2021, the CFPB announced the annual adjustment to the asset size threshold for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan under Regulation Z. For 2022, , the exemption threshold for creditors and their affiliates that regularly extended covered transactions secured by first liens is adjusted to $2.336 billion from $2.230 billion while for certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with assets of $10 billion or less (adjusted annually for inflation), the exemption threshold is adjusted to $10.473 billion from $10 billion.

DOJ and CFPB Issue Letters to Landlords and Mortgage Servicers

Adam Witmer
SCRA, Regulatory Update, MLA

On 12/20/2021, the Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued two joint letters to remind Landlords and Mortgage Servicers to Adhere to the CARES Act and Additional Legal Requirements Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The first letter was sent to landlords and other housing providers regarding protections for military tenants. The second letter was sent to mortgage servicers regarding military borrowers who have already exited or will be exiting COVID-19 mortgage forbearance programs in the coming weeks and months. The Justice Department and CFPB are calling on mortgage servicers and landlords to ensure that military homeowners and tenants are safeguarded during the pandemic and benefit equally from the nation’s economic recovery.

FinCEN Reveals Increase in SARs Related to Wildlife Trafficking

Adam Witmer
BSA, Regulatory Update

On 12/20/21, FinCEN released a Financial Threat Analysis on wildlife trafficking threat patterns and trend information identified in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data filed between January 2018 and October 2021. The result of the analysis shows that wildlife trafficking-related SARs filed between January 2018 and October 2021 trended significantly up and SARs filed in 2021 are on track to meet or exceed the amount of SARs filed in 2020 based on current trends.

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