On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau laid down the law on mortgage servicers, warning them that they “cannot hide” behind subpar technology and use that as an excuse to avoid CFPB sanctions.
The implications of the CFPB’s “supervision report” are clear – the CFPB is looking into servicers’ technology and has a high level of expectation when it comes to servicers’ ability to comply with its servicing rules.
But that’s not all the CFPB is going to be looking into when it is reviewing mortgage servicers.
The CFPB also identified two other items it plans to place a “greater emphasis” in its upcoming examinations.
First, the CFPB plans to review mortgage servicers’ practices to ensure that servicers are not discriminating against borrowers for any reason.
“The CFPB is conducting targeted reviews of mortgage servicers’ compliance with fair lending laws,” the CFPB said Wednesday.
“This includes looking at those servicers that are creditors, such as those that participate in a credit decision about whether to approve a mortgage loan modification,” the CFPB continued.
According to the CFPB, these reviews will include ensuring that creditors do not discriminate in any aspect of a credit transaction because of “race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, income coming from a public assistance program, or an applicant’s exercise of certain consumer protection rights.”
Additionally, the CFPB stated that it plans to further examine how mortgage servicers are handing complaints and requests from troubled borrowers.
“The CFPB has enhanced the section related to consumer complaints to highlight that examiners will be reviewing whether the servicer has an adequate process for expedited evaluation of complaints or information requests from borrowers facing foreclosure,” the CFPB stated. “The possibility of foreclosure puts even more weight on the importance of an appropriate complaint escalation process, which is essential to any compliance management system.”
