What is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

 

For more than 30 years, federal law has required all lenders to provide two disclosure forms to consumers when they apply for a mortgage and two additional short forms before they close on the home loan. These forms were developed by different federal agencies under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). To help simplify matters and avoid the confusing situations consumers have often faced when purchasing or refinancing a home in the past, the Dodd-Frank Act provided for the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and charged the bureau with integrating the mortgage loan disclosures under the TILA and RESPA.

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On November 20, 2013 the CFPB announced the completion of their new integrated mortgage disclosure forms along with their regulations (RESPA Regulation X and TILA Regulation Z) for the proper completion and timely delivery to the consumer. These regulations are known as “The Rule”.

 

What new forms are being introduced?

 

Any residential loan originated on or after October 3, 2015 will be subject to the new rules and forms set forth by the CFPB. The Rule replaces the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and early TILA form with the new Loan Estimate. It also replaces the HUD-1 Settlement Statement and final TILA form with the new Closing Disclosure. The introduction of the new disclosure forms requires changes to the systems that produce the closing forms. Our agency has prepared our production systems to provide the new required fee quotes and generate the new closing disclosure forms. 

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What new terms should you know?

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Business Days 
For the purpose of providing the Closing Disclosure in a real estate transaction, business days include all calendar days except Sundays and the legal public holidays such as: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. 

Creditor 
The CFPB broadly defines the lender as a creditor. Note: for the purpose of the new rules and to remain consistent with the current rules under the Truth-in-Lending Act, a person or entity that makes five or fewer mortgages in a calendar year is not considered a creditor. 

Consumer 
Throughout the rules the borrower is referred to as the consumer. There are also sellers involved in many real estate transactions, which the CFPB also defines as consumers. The focus of the new rules is for the borrower and nearly all of their references to the consumer translate to the borrower. 

Consummation 
Consummation is the day the borrower becomes legally obligated under the loan, which would be the date of signing, even if the loan has a rescission period. The concept of a rescission is the borrower accepts the obligation and then later has an opportunity to rescind it.