Safeguard Properties

CFPB Announces New Advisory Board And Council Members

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Investor Update
August 19, 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced the appointment of new consumer experts from outside the federal government to the Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, Credit Union Advisory Council, and Academic Research Council. The four bodies provide advice to CFPB leadership on a broad range of consumer financial issues and emerging market trends.

“The Bureau’s advisory board and councils play an important role in making sure that the Bureau is taking into account the wide variety of perspectives and views in the consumer financial marketplace,” said CFPB Director Cordray. “The new additions being announced today bring experience and knowledge that will help inform the CFPB’s work going forward.”

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act charges the CFPB with establishing a Consumer Advisory Board to advise and consult with the Bureau’s Director on a variety of consumer financial issues. At the behest of the Director, the Bureau also created a Community Bank Advisory Council, a Credit Union Advisory Council and an Academic Research Council. The Community Bank and Credit Union Advisory Councils advise and consult with the Bureau on consumer financial issues related to community banks and credit unions. The Academic Research Council shares insight relating to research methodologies, data collection, and analytic strategies. In January 2016, the CFPB issued a Federal Register Notice outlining the responsibilities of the advisory groups, as well as the duties of its members, and solicited applications for appointment.

The newly appointed advisory group members include experts in consumer protection, financial services, community development, fair lending, civil rights, consumer financial products or services, representatives of community banks and credit unions, and scholars with relevant methodological and subject matter experience. The expertise and institutional-size diversity among advisory group members reflects the range of issues under the Bureau’s jurisdiction as well as the racial, ethnic and geographic diversity of U.S. consumers. New members to the Consumer Advisory Board and Academic Research Council will serve three-year terms and new members to the Community Bank and Credit Union Advisory Councils will serve two-year terms.

Consumer Advisory Board Members:

  • Lynn Drysdale, Managing Attorney, Consumer Law Unit, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.
  • Paulina Gonzalez, Executive Director, California Reinvestment Coalition, San Francisco, Calif.
  • William Howle, Head of U.S. Retail Bank, Citibank, New York, N.Y.
  • Ruhi Maker, Senior Attorney, Empire Justice Center, Rochester, N.Y.
  • Arjan Schutte, Founder and Managing Partner, Core Innovation Capital, Los Angeles, Calif.
  • Lisa Servon, Professor, The New School, New York University, New York, N.Y.
  • Raul Vazquez, Chief Executive Officer, Oportun, Redwood City, Calif.
  • James M. Wehmann, Executive Vice President, Scores for Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), Roseville, Minn.
  • Chi Chi Wu, Staff Attorney, National Consumer Law Center, Boston, Mass.

Community Bank Advisory Council Members:

  • Melissa A. Ballard, Vice President and Director, First Iowa State Bank, Albia, Iowa
  • Menzo D. Case, President and Chief Executive Officer, Generations Bank, Seneca Falls, N.Y.
  • Linda Feighery, Vice President and Community Reinvestment Act /Fair Lending Officer for Citywide Banks, Denver, Colo.
  • Brenda K. Hughes, Senior Vice President and Director of Mortgage and Retail Lending, First Federal Savings Bank of Twin Falls, Twin Falls, Idaho
  • Dion Kidd Johnson, President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer, Western Bank, Alamogordo, N.M.
  • Cal Ratcliff, Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Bank of North Carolina, High Point, N.C.
  • Trent Sorbe, President, Central Payments Division, Central Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, Mo.

Credit Union Advisory Council Members:

  • Faith Lleva Anderson, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, American  Airlines Federal Credit Union, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Daniel Berry, Chief Executive Officer, Duke University Federal Credit Union, Durham, N.C.
  • Patrick F. Harrigan, Chief Risk Officer and General Counsel, Service Credit Union, Portsmouth, N.H.
  • Ricardo Ledezma, Corporate Compliance Assurance Manager, San Antonio Federal Credit Union, San Antonio, Texas
  • Sarah Marshall, Chief Executive Officer, North Side Community Federal Credit Union, Chicago, Ill.
  • Dayatra T. Matthews, Senior Vice President of Legal & Compliance, Local Government Federal Credit Union, Raleigh, N.C.
  • Amy Nelson, Chief Executive Officer, Point West Credit Union, Portland, Ore.
  • Raynor Zillgitt, Vice President Risk Management and General Counsel, Lake Trust Credit Union, Brighton, Mich.

Academic Research Council Members:

  • Ian Ayres, William K. Townsend Professor, Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn.
  • Brigitte Madrian, Professor, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

More information on the Bureau’s advisory groups can be found here: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/advisory-groups/

Source: CFPB

VALERI Servicer Special Announcement

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Investor Update
July 1, 2016

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Manual 26-4, Servicer Handbook

NEW VA POLICY – Streamline Modification – Chapter 5 has been updated with the new VA Streamline guidance and will be effective September 1, 2016.

UPDATES

Revisions to Chapter 4, 5, 14 and Appendix G are reflected in the Transmittal sheet dated May, 31, 2016, and have been posted in M26-4. They can be accessed at http://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/M26_4.asp.

Source: VA

VA Servicer Handbook M26-4 Property Preservation Requirements and Fees Update

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Investor Update
July 14, 2016

   3.  Boarding.  The boarding of windows and doors should only be done in those geographic areas where previous experience has shown vandalism and/or theft to be an ongoing problem, where local ordinances require boarding, if windows are broken, or where special conditions exist that make it necessary.  Reimbursement for boarding expenses is provided on a “per opening” basis, up to the maximum allowable amount.  For those properties where it has been determined by the loan servicer that boarding is necessary and required, the itemized invoice of work completed and materials used must include the amount paid per window or door.  The following requirements should be followed: 

(a)  Windows.  Secured with 1/2″ plywood or polycarbonate/clearboard.

(b)  Doors.  Secured with 5/8″ plywood or polycarbonate/clearboard.

(c)  Other Openings.  French doors and sliding door openings should be secured with 3/4″ plywood or polycarbonate/clearboard.

Source: VA (Servicer Handbook M26-4, Appendix H: Property Preservation Requirements and Fees full version)

VA Circular 26-15-16 Change 1 Auction Service for the Termination of VA Loans

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Investor Update
July 14, 2016

1. Purpose. The purpose of this Circular is to extend the rescission date of the basic Circular to reflect that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to authorize mortgage servicers and holders to employ an auction service in lieu of completing a traditional foreclosure sale, where feasible.

2. Therefore, Circular 26-15-16 is changed as follows:

Page 2, paragraph 8: Delete “July 1, 2016.” and insert “July 1, 2018.”

By Direction of the Under Secretary for Benefits

Jeffrey F. London
Deputy Director, Loan Guaranty Service

Source: VA

Additional Resource:
Circular 26-15-16 (original version)

USDA’s Rural Housing Service Releases Housing Data and User-Friendly Tool

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Investor Update
July 26, 2016

On July 21, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service (RHS) released data on the agency’s single-family, multifamily, and community facilities programs. RHS also demonstrated how the data can be accessed via a new interactive visualization tool, created by PolicyMap, designed to make the data publicly attainable and more useful.

Tony Hernandez, Administrator of RHS, and David Lipsetz, Associate Administrator of RHS, explained how the data and PolicyMap’s interactive tool will provide RHS with valuable information and allow it to invest in its rural housing programs more effectively. They also said the data tool will enable RHS to provide accurate, reliable reports on rural housing programs and allow the public to access RHS program information in an unprecedented way.

PolicyMap’s Data and Product Development’s Vice President, Elizabeth Nash, highlighted the user-friendly tool and its previous uses in other projects. She conducted demonstrations on how to use the tool, showcasing how simple and effective it is at displaying complex data.

To download RHS’ newly available data, please click here. To access the public version of PolicyMap’s data tool, please click here.

Source: NCSHA

OCC Appoints Deputy Comptroller for Compliance Supervision

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Investor Update
July 6, 2016

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) appointed Beverly F. Cole as the Deputy Comptroller for the Compliance Supervision, where she will report to the Senior Deputy Comptroller for Compliance and Community Affairs.

In this role, Cole will serve as the operational executive responsible for developing and promulgating compliance operational protocols, examination strategies, and schedules. She will also oversee a staff implementing bank supervision policy for compliance and establish programs to ensure efficient bank supervision for compliance. Cole will take on these duties starting July 2016 as announced by the OCC.

A native of Mississippi, Cole received her bachelor of arts degree in economics with an emphasis in business administration from Tougaloo College before beginning her career with the OCC in 1979 as an Assistant National Bank Examiner in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1989 she was commissioned a National Bank Examiner. During her career, Cole served in a variety of supervision roles including Credit Specialist in the former Southeastern District, Credit Team Leads, and Assistant Deputy Comptroller for Specialties and Operations in the Northeastern District Office.

Prior to this position, Cole served as the Senior Advisor to the Senior Deputy Comptroller for Midsize and Community Bank Supervision. In this role, she provided advice on the implementation of policies and procedures relevant to the effective and efficient supervision of national banks and federal savings associations.  In addition to her current position, Cole is also the Designated Federal Official for the OCC’s Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee.

According to Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry, “Beverly has dedicated her career to bank supervision. She is committed to ensuring national banks and federal savings associations comply with applicable laws and regulation and she understands that compliance goes hand-in-hand with safety and soundness as well as banks’ ability to provide equal access and fair treatment to their customers.”

Source: DS News

More Modifications Focusing on Sustainability

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Investor Update
July 5, 2016

More mortgage modifications are focusing on the sustainability of a loan in addition to focusing on affordability, according to a recent report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The OCC’s Q1 Mortgage Metrics report found that out of the 34,481 modifications completed by the seven largest banks during Q1 (Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo), 91 percent of them were of the “combination modification” variety. Combination modifications include multiple actions that affect both the affordability and sustainability of a mortgage loan. Actions that may affect sustainability may include interest rate reduction and term extension, according to the OCC.

The servicers completed an additional 2,681 modifications that received only a single action, the OCC reported.

The total number of combination modifications during the first quarter came to 31, 450; out of those, 93 percent of them included capitalization or delinquent interest fees, according to OCC. Approximately 81 percent included an interest rate reduction or freeze while 88 percent featured a term extension. Finally, 8 percent of combination modifications included some amount of principal reduction, while 13 percent of them had some amount of principal deferred, according to OCC.

Out of the total number of loan modifications completed during Q1, about 80 percent of them (30,028) reduced the pre-modification monthly payment of the loan. Servicers also reported that about 6,058 modifications that were completed during the third quarter of 2015 (which were at least six months old as of March 31, 2016) were either 60 days or more past due or in the process of foreclosure.

Overall, the 58,921 new foreclosures initiated by servicers in Q1 was a 29 percent decline from a year earlier, and the percentage of mortgages that were current and performing rose from 94.2 percent at the end of Q1 2015 up to 94.9 percent at the end of Q1 2016, according to the OCC. The report covered approximately 21.1 million first-lien mortgage loans with $3.6 trillion in unpaid principal balances, and covered about 38 percent of all outstanding first-lien residential mortgage debt in the U.S.

Source: DS News

MHA HAMP Reporting Update November 2016 Release Communication Plan Posted

Posted on by Safeguard

Investor Update
July 14, 2016

The communication plan for the November 2016 Release has been posted on the open and secure sections of HMPadmin.com. This plan provides a high-level overview of the upcoming release with key milestones identified.

Please review the November 2016 Release Communication Plan for more details. This plan can be found in the Release Notes tab under the Loan Reporting Documents section on HMPadmin.com.

Questions? 
Email the HAMP® Solution Center or call 1-866-939-4469. To reach Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS), select option 1, then option 5.

Source: MHA

MHA HAMP Reporting Update June 2016 UP Survey Now Available

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Investor Update
July 15, 2016

The June 2016 UP survey is now available on HMPadmin.com (login required). Servicers that have executed a Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) and that have cumulative UP activity must complete and upload their UP survey response to the HAMP® Reporting Tool (login required) by Friday, July 22, 2016.

SPA servicers that have any cumulative UP activity as of June 30, 2016 must submit an UP survey at this time.

For details on downloading and submitting the UP survey response, log in to HMPadmin.com, navigate to the HAMP Loan Reporting Tools & Documents area, and select the UP Survey tab.

Questions?
For more information, email the HAMP Solution Center or call 1-866-939-4469.

For questions specifically regarding the survey contents, email the HAMP Servicer Survey team.

Source: MHA