CFPB Issues Rule On Mortgage Guidelines For Special Classes Of Creditors

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") this week issued a final rule making a series of changes to its mortgage guidelines for small creditors and creditors in rural and underserved communities.

In a series of rulemakings issued pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB has applied special standards for mortgages extended by small creditors and creditors operating in rural and underserved communities.  In these rulemakings, the CFPB stated that it likely would revisit its regulatory definitions of small creditors and creditors operating in rural and underserved communities.  Several rules issued by the CFPB, including those related to escrow requirements for higher-priced mortgage loans ("HPML"), ability-to-repay requirements ("ATR"), and requirements under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act ("HOEPA"), contain these terms and are thus subject to the CFPB's regulatory definitions.