Compliance Calendar

The CFPB issued a final rule amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the Bureau's Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect a change in the loan amount for higher priced mortgage loan (HPML) appraisal exemptions from $27,200 to $28,500, effective January 1, 2022.

The VA published Circular 26-21-15 to inform the mortgage industry of developing a new Loan Guaranty Service (LGY) application programming interface (API) known as the Guaranty Remittance API.

California Assembly Bill 175 extends the date the trustee’s deed is recorded from within 18 calendar days after the sale to 21 calendar days, and provide that certain information to be submitted to a trustee be provided as an affidavit or declaration given under penalty of perjury (until January 1, 2026); effective January 1, 2022.

Fannie Mae SEL-2021-09 announces Selling Guide updates to allow qualified third-party providers to administer
homeownership education and counseling and no longer require the sole use of Framework®.

Fannie Mae Servicing Guide Announcement (SVC-2021-07) announces the automation of the submission process for requesting servicing and subservicing transfers, where servicers can now request servicing transfers by completing and submitting a Request for Approval of Servicing or Subservicing Transfer (Form 629) through a web-based application, replacing the email process for Form 629 in Excel format.

The eligibility of the Refi Possible Mortgage offering is being expanded by:

• Increasing Borrower income eligibility from 80% to 100% of the area median income
• Removing the requirement that the Mortgage being refinanced be seasoned no more than 120 months. The minimum 12-month seasoning requirement will continue to apply.

House Bill 2237, effective January 1, 2022, seeks to streamline the current Texas Mechanic’s, Contractor’s, and Materialman’s Liens statutes, remove redundant provisions, address various ambiguities, and provide for specific statutory forms for notice.

The CFPB published a final rule that revises the dollar amounts for provisions implementing TILA and amendments to TILA, including under the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act), the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 (HOEPA), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) effective January 1, 2022.

• For open-end consumer credit plans under TILA, the threshold that triggers requirements to disclose minimum interest charges will remain unchanged at $1.00 in 2022.
• For open-end consumer credit plans under the CARD Act amendments to TILA, the adjusted dollar amount in 2022 for the safe harbor for a first violation penalty fee will increase to $30 and the adjusted dollar amount for the safe harbor for a subsequent violation penalty fee will increase to $41.
• For HOEPA loans, the adjusted total loan amount threshold for high-cost mortgages in 2022 will be $22,969.
• The adjusted points and-fees dollar trigger for high-cost mortgages in 2022 will be $1,148.
• For qualified mortgages (QMs) under the General QM loan definition in § 1026.43(e)(2), the thresholds for the spread between the annual percentage rate (APR) and the average prime offer rate (APOR) in 2022 will be:
  • 2.25 or more percentage points for a first-lien covered transaction with a loan amount greater
    than or equal to $114,847;
  • 3.5 or more percentage points for a first-lien covered transaction with a loan amount greater than or equal to $68,908 but less than $114,847;
  • 6.5 or more percentage points for a first-lien covered transaction with a loan amount less than $68,908;
  • 6.5 or more percentage points for a first-lien covered transaction secured by a manufactured home with a loan amount less than $114,847; 3.5 or more percentage points for a subordinate-lien covered transaction with a loan amount greater than or equal to $68,908;
  • or 6.5 or more percentage points for a subordinate-lien covered transaction with a loan amount less than $68,908.

• For all categories of QMs, the thresholds for total points and fees in 2022 will be
  • 3 percent of the total loan amount for a loan greater than or equal to $114,847;
  • $3,445 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $68,908 but less than $114,847;
  • 5 percent of the total loan amount for a loan greater than or equal to $22,969 but less than $68,908;
  • $1,148 for a loan amount greater than or equal to $14,356 but less than $22,969; and 8 percent of the total loan amount for a loan amount less than $14,356.1.

IVES is implementing a processing modernization that as of January 1, 2022 will result in either increased rejections or additional authorized transcripts being sent and charged due to the inclusion of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software used to read the "clean" Form 4506-C as the form was intended.

Fannie Mae Lender Letter LL-2021-14 specifies temporary requirements that impact the eligibility of certain condo and co-op projects for whole loans purchased on or after Jan. 1, 2022, and for loans delivered into MBS pools with issue dates on or after Jan. 1, 2022, and until further notice.

Amended to increase the exemption threshold from $58,300 to $61,000 effective January 1, 2022

The CFPB issued a final rule to amend an appendix for Regulation V that implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as well as announce that the ceiling on allowable charges under section 612(f) of the FCRA will increase to $13.50 for 2022 effective on January 1, 2022.

Fair Credit Reporting Act Disclosures
Section 612(f)(1)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides that a consumer reporting agency may charge a consumer a reasonable amount for making a disclosure to the consumer pursuant to section 609 of the FCRA. Section 612(f)(1)(A) of the FCRA further provides that, where a consumer reporting agency is permitted to impose a reasonable charge on a consumer for making a disclosure to the consumer pursuant to section 609 of the FCRA, the charge shall not exceed $8.00 and shall be indicated to the consumer before making the disclosure. Section 612(f)(2) of the FCRA states that the Bureau shall increase the $8.00 maximum amount on January 1 of each year, based proportionally on changes in the Consumer Price Index, with fractional changes rounded to the nearest fifty cents. The Bureau's calculations are based on the CPI-U, which is the most general Consumer Price Index and covers all urban consumers and all items.

ANNUAL ADJUSTMENTS
Nov. 29, 2021

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) announces that the ceiling on allowable charges under section 612(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) will increase to $13.50, effective for 2022.

Fannie Mae published Lender Letter 2021-16 to establish the Confirmation of Conforming Loan Limits for 2022.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) released its 2022 Nationwide Forward Mortgage Limits.

The Ohio Department of Commerce has announced the 2022 loan prepayment penalty adjustment in which no penalties can be imposed on prepayment or refinancing of a residential mortgage loan less than $98,619 as of January 1, 2022.

Effective January 1, 2022, the declared rate is 3.25% for determining whether a loan is a high-rate/high-point loan under Vermont law

In this circular, the VA announced extending the Assisted Appraisal Processing Program (AAPP) rescission date from December 31, 2021, and replacing it with January 1, 2024.

Illinois Senate Bill 595 provides that in mortgage foreclosure actions, the plaintiff, or his or her attorney (rather than the clerk of the court) shall send a copy of the publication to each defendant, the certificate of the plaintiff (rather than the clerk of the court) is evidence that the plaintiff sent a copy of the publication to each defendant, and a copy of the certificate shall be filed at the office of the clerk of the court where the action is pending effective January 1, 2022.

Texas Senate Bill 43 enacts new Chapter 159 to the Texas Finance Code, which regulates wrap mortgage loan financing, which is defined as a loan used to purchase residential real estate that will continue to be subject to an unreleased lien that was not created by the borrower; provisions are effective January 1, 2022.

Amendments to § 1003.2 in amendatory instruction 6, amendments to § 1003.3 in amendatory instruction 7, and the amendments to supplement I to part 1003 in amendatory instruction 8 are effective on January 1, 2022.

HELOC Threshold Extension Expires

• For open-end lines of credit, the rule removes the temporary coverage threshold of 500 open-end lines of credit
  
• Effective for 2022, depository institutions and nondepository institutions are required to
  report HMDA data if they: (1) originated at least 25 closed-end mortgage loans or 100 open-end lines of credit in each of the two preceding calendar years, and (2) meet all of the other applicable criteria for reporting.

The goals of the final rule are:

• Adhere to the requirements of the Federal Credit Union Act.
• Achieve NCUA’s mission of protecting the credit union system.
• Correlate capital to risk.
• Implement a more meaningful and responsive metric.
• Address outliers holding insufficient capital compared to balance sheet risks.

• Effective January 1, 2022, when the temporary threshold of 500 open-end lines of credit expires, the final rule sets the permanent open-end threshold at 200 open-end lines of credit in each of the two preceding calendar years. 
• This threshold applies to both depository and nondepository institutions.
• Beginning in calendar year 2022, financial institutions that originated at least 200 open-end lines of credit in each of the two preceding calendar years must collect and record data on their open end lines of credit and report that data by March 1 of the following calendar year. 

New Mexico Senate Bill 12 repeals the Notary Public Act and Uniform Law on Notarial Acts which are replaced by a new Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts which includes Remote Online Notarizations; effective January 1, 2022.

Kansas Senate Bill 106 enacts the revised uniform law on notarial acts and repeals the uniform law on notarial acts effective January 1, 2022.

To prepare servicers for the transition from the 11th District Monthly Weighted Average Cost of Funds Index (COFI) to a replacement index, the GSEs have jointly published the COFI Transition Playbook and FAQs, which includes key transition milestones and recommended actions for servicers.

COFI FAQs: https://capitalmarkets.fanniem...

Freddie Mac Selling Guide Bulletin 2021-29 announces updates relating to the retirement of A-minus and Affordable Merit Rate® Mortgages.

Fannie Mae is announcing the selection of a replacement index to be used for the servicing of legacy COFI mortgage loans, called the Enterprise 11th District COFI Replacement Index, which will be based on the Federal Cost of Funds Index plus a spread adjustment.

Hawaii Senate Bill 385 enacts the 2018 Uniform Trust Code which is intended to consolidate statutes relating to trusts under one comprehensive umbrella; repeals the Uniform Trustees' Powers Act, Uniform Prudent Investor Act, and laws regarding trust administration under the Uniform Probate Code effective January 1, 2022.

Nevada Assembly Bill 237, among other things, requires that in the case of a foreclosure sale, which is the sale by foreclosure of any real property, notice must be given to each person who has recorded a request for a copy of a notice of default or notice of sale with respect to the mortgage or other lien being foreclosed, each other person with an interest in the real property whose interest or claimed interest is subordinate to the mortgage or other lien being foreclosed, and an association that has recorded a request for a copy of a deed upon a foreclosure sale; effective January 1, 2022.

Florida House Bill 121 clarifies that notary public is entitled to select particular technology in performing a notarial act with respect to electronic record; authorizes notary public's contract or employer to require the use of particular technology; revises limitations on notary public fees; revises certain registration requirements for online notaries public; authorizes notaries public to use audio-video communication technology to remotely swear in individuals who testify & new attorneys admitted to The Florida Bar; requires the remote online notarization service provider to retain audio-video communication recordings of online notarizations; authorizes RON service provider to delegate this duty to secure repository under certain conditions; clarifies that online notary public is entitled to select his or her remote online notarization service provider; authorizes notary public's contract or employer to require the use of particular RON service provider effective January 1, 2022.

Colorado House Bill 1282 enacts the Colorado Nonbank Mortgage Servicers Act subjecting mortgage servicers to regulation by an assistant attorney general, including the requirements of notification, record keeping, reporting, examinations, inspections, and enforcement effective January 1, 2022.

Illinois Senate Bill 47 amends the title of the "Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act" to the "Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act", revises definitions, permits the transfer of real property by a transfer on death instrument to a trustee of a trust under certain circumstances, changes the rules under which real property that is subject to a transfer on death instrument is transferred, provides that a transfer on death instrument may be renounced by the owner's surviving spouse, other changes to provisions regarding rights of creditors; limitations; and preparation of a transfer on death instrument or its revocation, and additional conforming changes; effective January 1, 2022.

Illinois has amended its provisions relating to its Notary Public Act that include remote notarial acts, and electronic notarial acts and forms and amendments to its Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, effective on (1) January 1, 2022 ; or (2) the date on which the Office of the Secretary of State files with the Index Department of the Office of the Secretary of State a notice that the Office of the Secretary of State has adopted the rules necessary for implementation; except that, the changes made to specified provisions of the Illinois Notary Public Act take effect July 1, 2022.

New York Senate Bill 5785 amends the real property actions and proceedings law, in relation to foreclosure of mortgages, to remove references to make the affirmative allegation provisions for high-cost loans and subprime home loans applicable to foreclosures of residential mortgages covering one to four-family dwellings effective January 1, 2022.

Fannie Mae previously announced changes to IRS reporting requirements in Announcement SVC-2021-03.

We clarified the servicer’s responsibilities for filing IRS Forms 1099-A and 1099-C on our behalf to reflect that the servicer must

▪ use its own address and loan number instead of Fannie Mae’s address, loan number and its Fannie Mae nine–digit identification number; and

▪ continue to include Fannie Mae’s name and federal tax identification number.

We have since received feedback that the policy effective date would not allow servicers and their technology partners enough time to make necessary changes. Therefore, we are updating the effective date of the changes to Jan. 1, 2022.

New York Assembly Bill 1935 amends New York banking law to require lenders to provide borrower's who are sixty days or more delinquent with a single point of contact within ten business days of receipt of a written request from the borrower; effective on the sixtieth day (January 2, 2022) after it became law (November 3, 2021) and shall apply to home loans entered into on or after such effective date.

This Bulletin addresses the annual review required in the Act’s definition of a “high cost home loan,” set forth at N.J.S.A. 46:10B-24. The Act, effective on November 27, 2003, requires an annual review and, if necessary, adjustment of the maximum principal amount that will, subject to the other triggering provisions in the Act, result in a loan being considered a “high cost home loan.” This adjustment is based on the last published increase in the housing component of the national Consumer Price Index, New York – Northern New Jersey Region (“Index”). The maximum principal amount as specified in the Act upon enactment was $350,000. The adjustment for the year 2021 was contained in Bulletin No. 21-04 and raised the maximum amount to $513,782.50.

In this Circular, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expresses concerns for home loan borrowers affected by the Colorado Wildfires and Straight-Line Winds and explains measures servicer may use to provide relief.

Effective January 6, 2022, the Texas Joint Financial Regulatory Agencies adopted home equity lending provisions to specify electronic disclosures requirements and describe Texas Constitution, Article XVI, Section 50’s applicability to out-of-state financial institutions.

In this circular, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced updates to the VA Form 26-0592.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation adopted provisions relating to debt collection licensing under the Debt Collection Licensing Act; these provisions are effective immediately.

Freddie Mac Guide Bulletin 2021-31 announces Selling Guide updated requirements related to Seller/Servicer risk mitigation, including those related to Seller/Servicer counterparties providing critical services.

An Act concerning vacant and abandoned property and registration ordinances to address the risk of blight, revising various parts of the statutory law and supplementing Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.

• In February 2019, we announced the retirement of ARM plans that use the 11th District monthly weighted-average cost of funds index (COFI) as computed each month by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank).
• The FHLBank had previously announced their intention to cease publishing this index in January 2020, with the December 2019 COFI being the last published rate.
• The FHLBank announced that it will extend publishing of this COFI index for an additional year. The Bank will no longer calculate the index after the publication of the December 2020 COFI on January 29, 2021.
• The FHLBank has again extended its deadline for discontinuing its monthly cost of funds index from early 2021 to early 2022, with the last published index occurring for the December 2021 COFI in January 2022. https://singlefamily.fanniemae...

Impact on Loan Servicing

As a courtesy to our customers, we are issuing this Notice to alert servicers of the extension of this index. While we have not determined the substitute index for COFI loans that are being serviced on Fannie Mae’s behalf, we are diligently working with the industry and FHFA on this matter. As soon as the substitute index is determined, we will communicate to servicers accordingly.

Click here for a detailed analysis by the CFPB of the transition to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR)