Dear Readers,

First of all, I’m so glad it is finally February. While not bad, January felt like it lasted forever, without the usual “fresh start” motivation I usually still feel as we flip the calendar to the second month of the year.

Speaking of things that seem to take a long time, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was busy in January. Among other things, they put out a policy statement regarding its application of the abusiveness standard in its supervision and enforcement matters. Since its inception, there have been some questions about what the CFPB will constitute abuse. Hopefully this will provide clarity going forward.

Perhaps even more confusing, particularly under former Director Richard Cordray, was the legal standing of guidance the bureau has provided over the years. While several guidance materials have been provided over the years, industry members have wondered whether they could trust that holding to this guidance would steer them away from potential enforcement actions. The CFPB has issued a policy statement regarding compliance aids, a new designation of bureau guidance. It also explained the legal status of this new form of guidance and informed the industry as to when the statement will become applicable.

If answers to these questions were not enough, the CFPB sought guidance from the industry, closing out the comment period for its request for information regarding its plan to assess the TRID rule. Title and settlement industry associations reported continued confusion regarding the disclosure of title insurance premiums. The bureau sought even more industry input, releasing three surveys for different entities in the closing process, including one for title companies, regarding participants’ experience using the TRID forms. It is giving industry participants until March 6 to submit responses.

We’ll keep you up-to-date on developments in all of these areas, along with all the news you need  to help keep your company compliant.

Until next time, stay legal.

Andrea Golby

Editor, The Legal Description