12/01/2003
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 has been signed into law by the President. The short name, and one we'll soon get to know intimately, is The FACT Act.
11/01/2003
We are about to enter a period of reporting information on high cost loans on the HMDA LAR. The fun begins on January 1, 2004 - actually the first business day after that date.
10/06/2003
With the HMDA revision, I have read that the new definition of refinancing is a transaction in which a new obligation satisfies and replaces an existing obligation, where both the existing and the new loan are secured by a lien on a dwelling. However, in the revised reg., it says that for coverage purposes, a refinance is when the existing obligation is a home purchase loan and both the existing and the new obligation are secured by first liens on dwellings. For reporting purposes, both the existing and the new obligation are secured by liens on dwellings. What is the difference under the revised reg between coverage purposes and reporting purposes? What types of loans should be reported as refinances in the future?
09/15/2003
I noticed comment in Memorandum for update pages in a Mortgage Lending publication the following:"Several U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal have disagreed with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on whether mark-ups of third-party charges are violations of RESPA. For example, may a lender pay $15 to a credit reporting agency for a report and then charge the customer $30 for the report at closing and keep the $15 difference? HUD has said this would be a violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and several courts have disagreed." Do you have any information concerning these court findings? Can this be done with this 3rd party charge or any others? Example; Could we charge for "payment coupon books" related to a mortgage loan payment?
09/15/2003
Client is requesting a $13,000 home improvement loan paying off an unsecured $3,000 home improvement loan with additional funds of $10,000 for new improvements. This is not reportable in 2004 as a refinance. Should it be reported as a home improvement loan or not reported under HMDA at all.
08/18/2003
We do not always get a new written application with each request for credit, esp. with our investors. If the required information (income, race and sex) was collected on a previous transaction, can we rely on that information? If so, does it ever expire? I mean I know ones income can fluctuate, but ones race and sex seldom do.
08/04/2003
I need some information pertaining to 1098 reporting. Can a large motor home loan be coded for a 1098 as a second home?
08/01/2003
When the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council ("CAC") meets, the discussion often serves as an early warning system for financial institutions.
07/01/2003
06/02/2003
One of our consumer officers made a loan to an employee and his 16 year old son as co-applicants. Of course, the 16 year old is well below the 18 year old limit for entering into a contract, so his signature is essentially worthless. My question is, are there any other issues we need to worry about - such as notifying the father that he alone is responsible for the loan and reporting the 16 year old's credit to credit reporting agencies.