The Mortgage Bankers Association has responded to the Office of Management and Budget's request for information on "unnecessary, unlawful, unduly burdensome and unsound rules" with several origination and servicing policy suggestions.
There already has been pullback from some of the policies the association is calling for the Office of Management and Budget to rescind, with the suggestions aimed at putting a more definitive end to these where the OMB has the authority to do so. The MBA also has some suggestions for revising certain rules.
The OMB has the authority to rescind rules in some cases but others are governed by the Administrative Procedures Act and would need to go through a different process for alterations.
Some rules the MBA would like to see rescinded
First on the MBA's list is the full removal of
The bureau, which just
The CFPB also said in a staff memo that it plans to shift several aspects of enforcement to the states and stop nonbank oversight, according to NMN affiliate
The MBA also called for rescinding some Department of Housing and Urban Development rules, including one aimed at
"While intended to provide servicers with the flexibility to deploy alternative methods to conduct meetings with borrowers before foreclosure, this rule preserves a duplicative regulatory environment that HUD has previously recognized as unnecessary to help borrowers maintain homeownership," the letter said.
Another HUD rule the association is recommending for rescission calls for minimum property standards for structures in areas identified as having high levels of flood risk.
"HUD's reliance on an undeveloped climate-informed science approach and costly elevation requirements threatens affordable housing production by introducing unclear, burdensome challenges," Mills wrote in the letter.
Furthermore, the letter calls for the full rollback of
"With over 30 states still operating under the 2009 code and a shortage of inspectors trained on the 2021 standards, this policy creates unnecessary disruption and restricts the already-limited housing supply available to renters and first-time homebuyers," Mills said.
What the MBA would like to see revised
The association also indicated it's interested in seeing the following rules changed:
- Mortgage servicing rules under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act requiring modernization
- Aspects of RESPA's Section 8 that aren't in line with "the current state of technology"
- Loan originator compensation requirements under the Truth in Lending Act that are "too complex"
- Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements for multifamily loans that do not involve consumers
- Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices oversight at Federal Housing Finance Agency that are "inappropriate" given the Federal Trade Commission's traditional oversight (FHFA Director Bill Pulte has withdrawn an advisory bulletin on UDAP.)
- Aspects of the FHFA's enterprise regulatory capital framework that are too complex or have had unintended consequences related to their impact on loan pricing
- FHA claims curtailment policies that require modernization
- Department of Veterans Affairs servicing and claims procedures for modifications requiring face-to-face interviews, which impose "significant logistical and compliance burdens"
- Reg AB II disclosures the Securities and Exchange Commission requires for private-label residential mortgage bonds, which the MBA said could be better "harmonized"
