Karl Dahlgren is managing director of BAI, Chicago, a nonprofit independent organization that delivers actionable insights for the financial services industry.

In October 2015, the first iteration of TRID took effect, which integrated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) disclosures and regulations, under the Know Before You Owe (KBYO) Mortgage Initiative.

Two years later, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued amendments to TRID that will go into effect this year, impacting loan applications received on or after October 1. While this updated regulation will have a significant impact on the industry, it will not require massive adjustments to processes and procedures, new training models or changes in vendors or suppliers.

Yet, even a few years after the initial ruling has gone into effect, many lenders and service providers still experience confusion about compliance with the rule. The CFPB continues to publish additional amendments and clarifications in an attempt to address much of the industry’s confusion about unique situations requiring disclosures. The main issue the industry struggles with is that the ruling, despite its staggering length, cannot possibly address all of the different scenarios that lenders continue to encounter.

When facing the upcoming regulations, many lenders have been concerned or confused about the following frequently asked questions.

Title and Escrow Fees
Can all fees associated with title and all fees associated with escrow be combined into one line each?
On the loan estimate form, all fees associated with title costs and closing can be rolled into one line if the lender prefers to do so. It is important to note, however, that this is not mandatory; it is an optional way of disclosing.

Appraisal Costs Changed Because Property Type Changed
If a borrower did not describe the property type correctly, such as confusing a condo and a duplex, and the appraisal charge must be increased as a result, is this considered a change of circumstances? Would this require a change in circumstance form for the higher cost of the appraisal?

The TRID amendments and clarifications have not altered the current definition of a change in circumstance. The regulation implies that you have three days to send the loan estimate. That time is intended to allow the creditor to perform the necessary investigations and due diligence to gather the necessary information to make the loan estimate in good faith. If a situation such as the one described occurred after the loan estimate was prepared, this would be considered a change in circumstances. The lender would need to issue a revised loan estimate in this scenario.

Defining Draw Fees
What is considered a “draw fee” under the new updates? Draw fees would also be synonymous with inspection fees if the lender requires an inspection before advancing more funds. There are several different terminologies for this fee used in different parts of the country. The small entity guides use “inspection and handling fees.”

Lender Paid Loans
How are most lenders disclosing a lender-paid loan? Does any lender-paid credit have to be disclosed at the time of the loan estimate?

Lenders may show the lender credit on the loan estimate and the item purchased by the loan credit, or they may decide not to disclose the cost of an item the lender-paid credit will pay for in the loan disclosure. The charge and the specific lender credit would need to be shown on the closing disclosure.
Source:https://www.mba.org/publications/insights/archive/mba-insights-archive/2018/trid-faqs-how-to-deal-with-most-common-concerns-about-upcoming-regulatory-update

The latest version of TRID provided the industry with much-needed clarification on a number of issues and practices facing lenders as they react and operationalize workflow to be in compliance with the revised rules of engagement. As a private-label fulfillment resource, my company has had the opportunity to speak with our clients in depth about our joint interpretation of the revised regulation and its impact on the origination process. As we all know, the original rule had many clear mandates, but left certain areas very gray.

From our viewpoint, the 2017 rule (TRID 2.0) broadly contained seven major changes and clarifications and five areas where the rule fell short of what the industry requested to be addressed.

Major Changes and Clarifications

TOP (Total of Payments) Calculation

Under TRID 1.0, there were different opinions on how the TOP calculation should be calculated. The 2017 rule provides clarification that TOP can exclude charges for principal, interest, mortgage insurance, or loan costs that are offset by another party through a specific credit. However, general credits,  may not be used to offset amounts for the purpose of TOP.

Tolerance Guidance in Conjunction with Good Faith Requirements

TRID 2.0 validates that the best information reasonably available standards apply to fees subject to 10 percent tolerance and allowable variations. The 2017 rule explains that if a charge subject to the 10 percent cumulative tolerance standards was omitted from the loan estimate (LE) but charged at consummation, it’s allowable if the sum of all charges subject to the tolerance is in good faith. For example, the lender must disclose the fee for services the lender requires. However, the lender is not required to provide a detailed breakdown of all related fees that are not explicitly required by the creditor, but may be charged to the consumer that are needed to perform the settlement services required by the creditor.

TRID 2.0 also explains that this standard applies to property taxes, property insurance (including homeowner’s insurance), amounts placed in escrow, impound, reserve or similar accounts, prepaid interest, and third-party services not required by the creditor, so long as the charges (or omission of charges) were estimated on the best information reasonably available.

Settlement Service Provider List (SSPL) Modifications and Good Faith Requirements

The 2017 rule provides that whether a consumer is permitted to shop is determined by the relevant facts and circumstances. It also identifies the tolerance standard for when the lender permits shopping for settlement services, but fails to provide the written SSPL. If a creditor fails to provide the written list to the consumer, but the facts and circumstances indicate the consumer was permitted to shop for the settlement service, the charges for which the consumer is permitted to shop are subject to 10 percent cumulative tolerance standard. However, if those charges are paid to the creditor or an affiliate, they are subject to 0 percent tolerance. Errors or omissions on the written list or untimely delivery of the written list may also impact tolerance standards. If the error or omission does not prevent the consumer from shopping, the charges are not to the creditor or an affiliate, and the consumer is otherwise considered to have shopped, the charges are subject to the 10 percent cumulative tolerance. If the error or omission does prevent the consumer from shopping, the charges are subject to the 0 percent tolerance standard.
Source:http://www.mortgagecompliancemagazine.com/regulatory/sizing-new-trid-rule-changed-didnt-remains-air/

We’re starting to see rising supply & flat/declining prices.

Our good friend John Rubino over at DollarCollapse.com just released an analysis titled US Housing Bubble Enters Stage Two: Suddenly Motivated Sellers.

He reminds us that housing bubbles follow a predictable progression:

Stage One: Mania – Prices rise at an accelerating rate as factors like excess central bank liquidity/loose credit/hot foreign money drive a virtuous bidding cycle well above sustainably affordable levels.

Stage Two: Peak – Increasingly jittery owners attempt to sell out before the party ends. Supply jumps as prices stagnate.

Stage Three: Bust – As inventory builds, sellers start having to lower prices. This begins a vicious cycle: buyers go on strike not wanting to catch a falling knife, causing sellers to drop prices further.

Rubino cites recent statistics that may indicate the US national housing market is finally entering Stage Two after a rip-roaring decade of recovery since the bursting of the 2007 housing bubble:

the supply of homes for sale during the “all important” spring market rose at 3x last year’s rate,

30 of America’s 100 largest cities now have more inventory than they did a year ago, and

mortgage applications for new homes dropped 9% YoY.

Taken together, these suggest that residential housing supply is increasing as sales slow, exactly what you’d expect to see in the transition from Stage One to Stage Two.

If that’s indeed what’s happening, Rubino warns the following comes next:

Stage Two’s deluge of supply sets the table for US housing bubble Stage Three by soaking up the remaining demand and changing the tenor of the market. Deals get done at the asking price instead of way above, then at a little below, then a lot below. Instead of being snapped up the day they’re listed, houses begin to languish on the market for weeks, then months. Would-be sellers, who have already mentally cashed their monster peak-bubble-price checks, start to panic. They cut their asking prices preemptively, trying to get ahead of the decline, which causes “comps” to plunge, forcing subsequent sellers to cut even further.

Sales volumes contract, mortgage bankers and realtors get laid off. Then the last year’s (in retrospect) really crappy mortgages start defaulting, the mortgage-backed bonds that contain their paper plunge in price, et voila, we’re back in 2008.

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4187673-trouble-ahead-housing-market

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/24/southern-california-home-sales-crash-a-warning-sign-to-the-nation.html

It’s almost impossible to start any trend article on mortgage lending without recognizing a recent statistic that has far-reaching implications for the mortgage industry. $8,957. That’s the cost to originate a loan in the first quarter of 2018, according to a study by the MBA. That figure rose almost $500 from the fourth quarter of 2017.

What else happened in Q1? Mortgage bankers lost money for the first time since Q1 of 2014.

Now consider the top trends this year that have to do with advanced technologies that financial services firms need to stay competitive with digital-first challengers in the market. So, what is the first and most important trend for mortgage lenders? According to The Financial Brand, financial institutions worldwide are making “massive investments in digital transformation” to try to make up for outdated legacy banking infrastructure that can’t keep up with the expectations of digitally savvy customers.

While You Were Pivoting

Digital-only entities are taking the market by storm and scooping up the customers and the profits even as the global banking attempts to pivot to becoming more tech-savvy. The fact that mortgage origination costs keep hitting new peaks is a sign that the mortgage industry as a whole is even further behind its other financial services counterparts.

That’s why an aggressive and thoughtful focus on digital transformation for mortgage lenders is more important now than ever before. Digital lenders like Quicken and a growing field of disruptive startups are already focused on fast processes and online experiences. A recent whitepaper from financial analyst firm Celent concluded that a fully end-to-end digital mortgage is possible within the next five years. So making sure that lending institutions get started on the right foot with the right plan is critical.

A Proven Plan

What does it take to get there? It is a relief to know there are proven ways to start and maintain a digital transformation journey.

Celent suggests that taking a phased approach to technology implementation can provide fast initial benefits, lower project risk and spread out costs. First on the firm’s technology to-do list is digital document capture. But just any digital document capture solution isn’t likely to provide the benefits truly needed to move the needle on lowering costs and showing quick return on investment.

Lenders who want to make the most impactful first step in their transformation should look for a solution that combines OCR and intelligent capture technology and offers the following capabilities:

Automatically sorts (classifies) all incoming documents, regardless of type and format

Captures specific data without defining templates, zones, anchors or specific keywords

Reconciles captured data against your LOS to ensure consistency, accuracy, and completeness

Easily and quickly integrates with your LOS or other line of business systems, or may be leveraged as a standalone solution

These capabilities eliminate paper-based processes, reduce human touch-points, and eliminate the need to manually classify documents and hand-key data from even the most complex, diverse document types. With over 500 pages in the typical mortgage file, it’s easy to see how lenders have accomplished major cost reductions in areas like paper, file storage and printing costs.

Information accuracy and transparency are also improved, reducing the risk of critical loan defects and compliance issues. And reduced cycle times allow lenders to process more loans and make better profits, while increasing the satisfaction of the borrower, who invariably wants to close her loan as quickly as possible.

Clearing the Obstacles

Document capture is just the first key technology identified by Celent, so lenders shouldn’t stop there if they want to push for end-to-end mortgage lending. According to a 2017 survey, the top five barriers to digital transformation for financial institutions are teams that lack the right skillset, integration problems between new and existing technology and data, a lack flexibility and speed in processes, outdated technology and a lack of collaboration between IT and business units.

With the right plan and the right solution, these obstacles are easier to remove than you might think.

Source: http://themreport.com/daily-dose/07-25-2018/mortgage-lenders-need-tech

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4189254-irresponsible-mortgage-lenders-created-second-housing-bubble

Due diligence is one of the most fundamental but also one of the most important practices in third party risk management. The very basic reality is there will be times when you learn something in doing your due diligence that may change the entire way in which you think about a company, perhaps even causing you to change your mind about engaging in the relationship.

Due Diligence Is Vital to a Successful Third-Party Risk Management Program

Collecting and reviewing due diligence can seem like a very daunting task but it’s one that reaps many benefits, including:

It protects your mortgage company from unnecessary and unwanted exposure to risk. This is important to both your institution and your customers.

Examiners will be satisfied as it’s a regulatory expectation. Regulatory guidance such as OCC Bulletin 2013-29, FDIC FIL 44-2008, and CFPB Bulletin 2012-03 place a strong emphasis on risk-based due diligence and the overall lifecycle of the third-party relationship. It’s highly encouraged to review these regulations when implementing a due diligence process at your institution.

Due diligence procedures also ensure you have set a standard for the minimum requirements to onboard a vendor, which helps set the tone across the institution regarding due diligence expectations. Your institution’s lines of defense will be able to work together more efficiently when they’re all on the same page.

Due diligence helps to inform all of your other third-party risk activities, particularly honing in on risks that must be addressed in the contract or through ongoing monitoring.

The 8 Vendor Due Diligence Best Practices for Your Mortgage Company

Here are 8 vendor due diligence best practices:

Gather the vendor list and perform standard due diligence on all vendors. Request a list from the Accounts Payable Department that you can compare to the vendor list you currently have on file to make sure you’re not overlooking any vendors. Once you have your vendor list ready to go, ensure the appropriate standard due diligence is accessible on each vendor (e.g. Tax ID, Business License, OFAC Check, Certificate of Good Standing). The standard due diligence requirements are dependent on your mortgage company’s policy; however, it’s always a best practice to have some documentation requirements, even on vendors that may pose very little risk to the institution.

Make sure the due diligence performed is tailored to the type of vendor and level of risk associated. In addition to the standard due diligence requests, you’ll want to include additional due diligence requirements based on the type of vendor it is and the vendor’s level of risk to the institution. Be sure to understand each vendor’s regulatory risk and business impact risk. The regulatory impact determines if the vendor is low, medium, or high risk. You should have a list of documentation requirements that is based on each risk level. The business impact will determine if the vendor is critical or non-critical to the institution. There may be additional documentation that needs to be maintained on each vendor dependent on the business impact as well, such as a detailed business continuity plan and results of any corresponding testing.

Due diligence should be completed during vendor selection prior to the contract being executed. It’s imperative to collect due diligence on a vendor before you contractually commit to their products or services. In fact, OCC Bulletin 2013-29, which is the gold standard in third party risk, includes due diligence and third-party selection as one of the lifecycle phases. Pre-contract due diligence in the vendor vetting process will prevent unwanted pitfalls and risk in selecting the wrong vendor, as well as allow you the opportunity to contractually commit them to provide any items they cannot release prior to an agreement being signed.

Due diligence should also be completed on an ongoing basis. Review and make updates periodically. Due diligence is not a one and done deal, and it is not a check-the-box item. Each due diligence document obtained should be reviewed by a qualified individual who can provide an accurate analysis. Depending on your program’s requirements, requests for updated due diligence updates should be made periodically in order to verify the vendor is still meeting expectations.

Always keep in mind the frequency of due diligence. Set reminders to reach out to the vendor for certain types of reports and make sure you’re making timely requests. For example, if the vendor is a public company, set an alert to check their website and gather financials as soon as they are released. Time due diligence to correspond with the most important time-sensitive materials, whether it’s financials or SOC report, etc.

Document all attempts to collect documentation from the vendors. It’s understood that you’re not always going to be able to collect all of the documentation being requested. In this case, it’s vital to document your method of reaching out and the date of each attempt. This is especially important so that you can show senior management, the board, and examiners. They’ll want to see you have a record of this and will appreciate the thoroughness.

Write out the steps in your vendor management program documentation. Make sure you’ve outlined the institution’s vendor due diligence requirements in your program. As changes are made or new guidance is released, be sure to update the documentation to reflect this. It’s important to keep the expectations consistent and current.

Include due diligence as part of your internal audit review of third-party risk management. It’s always prudent to identify problems or potential issues and address them proactively.

When you take the time and effort to properly perform due diligence on your vendors, it will positively impact your mortgage company. Initially, you’re guaranteeing that you’re selecting the vendor that best fits your institution’s needs. By continuing to perform the appropriate due diligence, you’re confirming that they are still the best fit. Finally, you’re gaining the utmost respect and trust from your customers as they can rely on your institution to provide great services and products because your third parties are doing so for you, which in turn is boosting your overall reputation.

Source: http://www.mortgagecompliancemagazine.com/due-diligence/eight-vendor-due-diligence-best-practices-for-your-mortgage-company/

The risk of fraud in mortgage application increased at the end of the second quarter, according to the latest quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Index released by CoreLogic on Thursday. CoreLogic said that the index rose to 149 for the second quarter, trending up 12 percent from the same period last year and rising 3 percent from the previous quarter.

The report said that Q2 2018 was the seventh consecutive quarterly increase in mortgage fraud risk. The Mortgage Fraud Risk Index is calculated from the aggregation of individual loan application fraud risk scores during the previous quarter.

Compared to 62 percent in Q1, purchase applications accounted for 72 percent of all transactions in Q2, the report indicated, as purchase volumes rose during the spring season. However, it found that refinances were at the lowest level since the index started reporting these trends in 2010, CoreLogic said.

“There is an increase in borrowers applying for loans on multiple properties,” the report said. “While the tight housing inventory and competitive market likely play a role, data also shows investors purchasing multiple properties concurrently and at times dividing loan applications across lenders.”

The index also found an increase in identity discrepancies. It also noted red flags on income reasonability during the quarter.

Regionally, Florida led the states with the most number of metros with the highest fraud risk. In fact, the Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area had the most significant increase in the fraud risk index at 20 percent. According to the report, the increase was due to high-risk flags in this region that included investors rapidly acquiring multiple rental properties, and the potential use of owner-occupant financing to obtain these properties.

Other Florida regions on the list included Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach; Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater; Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach; and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma saw a quarter-over-quarter drop in mortgage fraud risk by 24 percent. Memphis, Tennessee also saw a decline of 10 percent.

Source: http://themreport.com/daily-dose/07-19-2018/mortgage-application-fraud-risk-increases-in-q2

Source: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4189254-irresponsible-mortgage-lenders-created-second-housing-bubble

While OFAC may not be included in the top 10 issues facing your company, how familiar are you with the requirements? Are you confident that your company’s OFAC program is robust or, at least, meeting minimum requirements?

OFAC, an office of the U.S. Treasury, administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals, and it acts under Presidential wartime and national emergency powers to impose controls on transactions and to freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction.

All U.S. persons, must comply with OFAC’s regulations. Financial regulators evaluate OFAC compliance programs to ensure compliance with the sanctions. In the creation and implementation of an OFAC compliance program, a risk-based approach is what is expected. The basic requirements are to block accounts and other property of specified countries, entities, and individuals and prohibit or reject unlicensed trade and financial transactions with specified countries, entities, and individuals.

Of special note, in2009, OFAC issued a final rule entitled “Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines” to provide guidance by explaining the procedures that OFAC follows in determining the appropriate enforcement response to apparent violations of its regulations. As noted in the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual (2014), “some enforcement responses may result in the issuance of a civil penalty that, depending on the sanctions program affected, may be as much as $250,000 per violation or twice the amount of a transaction, whichever is greater. The Guidelines outline the various factors that OFAC takes into account when making enforcement determinations, including the adequacy of a compliance program in place within an institution to ensure compliance with OFAC regulations.”

As we commonly see in compliance news, OFAC issues penalties for noncompliance and the outcomes are financially and reputationally damaging. Remember that violations can result in criminal penalties for willful violations and fines may range up to $20 million and imprisonment of up to 30 years. Take special note of the following:

Civil penalties for violations of the Trading With the Enemy Act can range up to $65,000 per violation;

Civil penalties for violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act can range up to $250,000 or twice the amount of the underlying transaction for each violation; and

Civil penalties for violations of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act can range up to $1,075,000 for each violation.

So, knowing all of this, there are pitfalls to avoid. Being familiar with OFAC requirements is good; however, a comprehensive understanding of how OFAC intersects with your company’s operations is something else. And, this ‘something else’ is where we should be or heading towards. Take a look at the list below and see if your company’s OFAC compliance program needs any fine tuning.

Responsibility: Has your company defined and documented roles and responsibilities to specific staff members? Have appropriate noncompliance consequences been documented and communicated to appropriate staff members?

Policies and procedures: Yes, you’re hearing this once again. Does your company have an established OFAC policy as well as procedures and processes to adequately meet OFAC compliance program requirements?

Monitoring: This process needs to occur internal and external to your company. Internally, how often is your company measuring its risk appetite with OFAC? How often is the OFAC risk assessment reviewed, updated, and presented to the Board? From an external perspective, how often does your company evaluate the effectiveness of any vendors that assist with OFAC compliance?

Connection to other BSA requirements or elements: Important crossovers exist, such as:

CIP: How effective and comprehensive are OFAC processes within the CIP process at your company?

Beneficial Ownership Rule: Have procedures and processes been updated to include the identification of beneficial owners of your company’s business entity clients in the OFAC process?

Independent reviews/audits: Whether an internal or external review is performed, how thorough is the audit in determining your company’s compliance with OFAC requirements?

Avoiding the pitfalls is crucial. Taking the right steps will help:

Proper oversight by the Board and senior management. Tone from the top and adequate employee training are must haves.

Strong BSA compliance policy and effective internal controls aid in compliance with OFAC requirements.

Since much of BSA is a risk-based approach, review and update at least annually the BSA and OFAC risk assessments and adjust the compliance programs accordingly.

Keep current with changes to the SDN list and sanctions communicated by OFAC. Do not rely on vendors at face value. Due diligence is a must.

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Around the Industry:

Effective Now

The Fed, FDIC, and OCC jointly issued a statement detailing rules and associated reporting requirements that are immediately affected by the enactment of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA). The Fed also issued a statement describing how the Board will not take action to enforce certain regulations and reporting requirements for firms with less than $100 billion in total consolidated assets.

Source: http://www.mortgagecompliancemagazine.com/weekly-newsline/dont-let-the-snares-of-ofac-catch-you-off-guard/