Sept. 4, 2012 – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Friday that the public will have an additional two months to comment on its proposed changes to the definition of “finance charge.”
Originally, the CFPB set Sept. 7 as the comment deadline. The bureau said it decided to move the deadline to Nov. 6 after reviewing the feedback it has received so far.
NAFCU's views have been part of that feedback. From the very beginning, NAFCU has continued to work with the CFPB on all of its proposals that impact credit unions. As recently as Aug. 15, NAFCU General Counsel and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Carrie Hunt and NAFCU Regulatory Affairs Counsel Dillon Shea met with the CFPB to discuss the finance charge definition and other proposals.
The finance charge proposed rule, which is part of the bureau’s effort to combine mortgage disclosures under the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, would eliminate numerous exceptions that exclude common costs (such as title insurance) from the finance charge. The CFPB says it wants the APR “to be a more accurate reflection of the overall cost of credit.”
The proposal would also impact the Home Ownership Equity Protection Act proposed rule since the shift to an all-in APR would affect the number of mortgage loans that law covers. The CFPB's notice includes formal extensions for both the TILA/RESPA proposal and the HOEPA proposal.
The extension aligns the finance charge comment period with the deadline for comments on the rest of the TILA/RESPA proposed rule. HOEPA proposal comments, with the exception of the finance charge proposed change, are still due to the CFPB by Friday, Sept. 7.
NAFCU members can access the association’s Regulatory Alert on the finance charge proposal here.
The TILA/RESPA and HOEPA proposals will be covered in NAFCU’s webcast tomorrow, “Inside the CFPB’s Mortgage Proposals.” For more information or to register, click here.