Newsroom

November 15, 2013

NAFCU to NCUA: Work with CFPB on mortgage regs

Nov. 20, 2013 – NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger urged NCUA Board members Tuesday to remember the CFPB's statements about flexibility in enforcing its new mortgage-related regulations in the early months of 2014, and to work with the CFPB on examinations and enforcement.

"Recently, at a hearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee, CFPB Director Richard Cordray recognized the challenges that lenders are facing and specifically stated that, in the ‘early months' after the effective date, the CFPB is looking for ‘good faith efforts toward substantial compliance,'" Berger said in a letter to the agency board. "He also indicated that the CFPB has discussed this matter with other regulators, who ‘are in agreement on this point.'

"We call on the NCUA to work closely with the CFPB to ensure that examiners have a good understanding on the flexibility that the CFPB has clearly contemplated," Berger continued. "Further, we strongly urge the NCUA to ensure that credit unions are not unfairly penalized by inflexible examinations for compliance with the CFPB's mortgage rules."

Berger pointed out that the impending mortgage rules affect nearly every aspect of credit unions' mortgage operations, including origination, servicing, escrows and appraisal. The compliance demands on credit unions will be "unprecedented," he said.

Berger requested that NCUA communicate with credit unions about the agency's expectations for compliance with the new mortgage rules in the early months of 2014.

Last week, Berger wrote to CFPB urging the delay of the bureau's seven mortgage-related rules for at least 12 months so credit unions can prepare adequately without incurring unnecessary costs.