We previously reported on recent mortgage rulemakings that were finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) late last year. Of the two final rules from the Bureau, one drastically simplifies the definition of a “qualified mortgage” (QM) (the General QM Final Rule), and the other provides an alternate pathway to QM safe harbor status for certain seasoned mortgage loans (the Seasoned QM Final Rule).

As part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to address the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American families, on February 16, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Department of Veterans Affairs, and US Department of Agriculture (together, the agencies) announced a coordinated extension and expansion of forbearance and foreclosure relief programs. This announcement extends and expands the agencies’ forbearance and foreclosure relief programs through June 30, 2021. The programs were due to expire in March.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director David Uejio has put a special focus on the manner in which responses are made to the CFPB’s consumer complaint system. Signaling the importance of this issue by undertaking it even before President Joe Biden’s nominee for director, Rohit Chopra, is confirmed to the position, Uejio has called out in a publicly released message to CFPB staff the possibility that some responses to complainants are incomplete—and vary by the complainant’s apparent demographic community.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced in its January 2021 monthly bulletin that it will begin exercising its enhanced powers under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) that came into effect January 1.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) on January 13 issued a Statement Regarding the Provision of Financial Products and Services to Consumers with Limited English Proficiency (Statement), which is intended to provide compliance principles and guidelines to inform and assist financial institutions in their decisionmaking related to serving limited English proficiency (LEP) consumers in non-English languages.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a final rule on October 27 that determines when a national bank or federal savings association (bank) makes a loan and is the “true lender” in the context of a partnership between a bank and a third party, such as a marketplace lender.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) on October 20 issued a final rule to extend the government-sponsored enterprises patch (GSE Patch), i.e., the “temporary qualified mortgage” exemption within the qualified mortgage/ability-to-repay rule.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a policy statement on October 5 establishing a process to allow for early termination of consent orders.

An August 31 memorandum issued by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), an arm of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the Executive Branch, could dramatically change the way agencies handle civil and administrative enforcement proceedings. The memorandum directs covered agencies to provide greater due process to individuals and companies under investigation and reemphasizes the principle that the burden of proof of a violation rests solely with the government. The memorandum was issued to implement the directives contained in Section 6 of Executive Order 13924, Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery (issued May 19, 2020). In relevant part, the executive order directed agency heads to revise agency procedures and practices in light of “the principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication.”

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule that requires minimum standards for anti-money laundering (AML) programs for banks lacking a federal functional regulator (the Federal Reserve Board, OCC, FDIC, OTS, NCAU, and SEC), i.e., banks and similar financial institutions that are subject only to state regulation and supervision, and certain international banking entities (collectively, “covered banking entities”).