by David Depman
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In this video, Rich Leffler from AxSellerated Development discusses the current state of mortgage regulatory compliance requirements. Rich focuses on the importance of keeping yourself up to date on all regulations due to the reality that the responsibility falls on individual loan officers to be aware of the regulations that govern their work. The main point being that, like driving, ignorance of the law is not a defense against not following the law.
In many cases, the sanctions and penalties for failing to follow the guidelines not only affect the company, but also the individual loan officer. And the enforcement of these regulations is only going to increase as more regulations come online. Mike Piwowar, a commissioner at the SEC said “Four-and-a-half-years later, after Dodd-Frank was passed in July of 2010, we’re still only about halfway done implementing”
Regulatory compliance
As mentioned in the video, there are some agencies and regulations that are always evolving and changing, and you should keep current with them. Below are links to each of the agencies mentioned. There are newsletters, update and news pages and other helpful links that will keep you informed of the changing landscape of mortgage regulatory compliance issues.
HUD:
For updates from the department of Housing and Urban Development, check out their main email subscription page:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/subscribe/mailinglist
On HUD’s Mailing Lists page, there are number of regular update options. The above link is separated into:
In the above sections you can find some other links that might be interesting such as:
FHA Homeownership Update – This is for real estate industry professionals to receive email alerts to policy and procedures updates, training and events, MLs, etc. You can also access FHA Info Email Alert Messages.
Webcast Notifications – Audio and video broadcasts from SuperNOFA training to classes on our web-based business processes, this will keep you up-to-date on all HUD webcasts.
HUD-VASH Listserv – to stay up to date on veteran issues related to mortgages and housing
HUD News – to stay up to date on press releases to the media and the public.
There is also a State Mailing List that you can subscribe to as well.
FDIC:
News updates, subscriptions and special alerts are all available from the FDIC from a single starting point:https://www.fdic.gov/news/
This page lets you sign up for different alerts, including news releases, Financial Institution Letters, statistical publications and others. Just sign up for the FDIC alerts by entering your e-mail address. If it’s your first time accessing the system, you will be asked to set a few e-mail options before viewing a list of 54 different subjects to which you can subscribe.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
The CFPB has an active page with updates and archives at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/regulations/
The page features updates sorted by date as well as sections for:
You can also learn about implementation, add your voice, read about guidance issues, check their blog and see their archives.
Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry
The NMLS has a number of places to get updates as well as an RSS feed here: http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/news/Pages/default.aspx
They also have an ongoing educational portal here: http://nmlseducation.wordpress.com/
And a list of state agencies for questions about licensing regulations of specific jurisdictions: http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/slr/resources/Pages/default.aspx
Keeping up to date with these regulations is entirely the loan officer’s responsibility. Companies that want to reduce their exposure to risk are investing in education for their LOs, but many still fall short of providing all the information that one may need in their day -to-day work . Even if you are getting training from your company, the long and short of the story is that you are responsible to know the rules, and vigilance is the best defense.
So where do you get reliable mortgage regulatory compliance information when it comes to regulatory requirements?