Cordray Remarks Hint at Further Changes for the Mortgage Industry and Send Warning to Vendors

In his prepared remarks to the Mortgage Bankers Association this week, Richard Cordray suggested there are more changes to come for the mortgage industry and that regulators need to pay more attention to vendors involved in the mortgage industry.


In addressing the implementation of TRID, Cordray reiterated prior assurances that initial examinations regarding TRID will be focused on the good faith efforts lenders have made to come into compliance with the rule.  Cordray acknowledged that the implementation process "was not as smooth as we would have hoped" despite the agency having allowed almost two years for implementation.  Rather than acknowledging the unwieldy nature of wholesale changes to how lenders provide disclosures to borrowers, Cordray suggested that the issues were largely the fault of vendors who "performed poorly in getting their work done in a timely manner, and they unfairly put many of you on the spot with changes at the last minute or even past the due date."  Cordray suggested that financial regulators, including the CFPB, may need to devote greater attention to performance of vendors and how they are affecting the marketplace.  Under Dodd Frank, the CFPB has supervisory authority over service providers to supervised banks and nonbanks, as well as service providers to a substantial number of small insured depository institutions or small insured credit unions.  12 U.S.C. §§5514-5516.


Cordray also noted that more changes are likely in the mortgage The CFPB has been  examining the entire closing experience and evaluating electronic closings and how improvements in technology can be used to the advantage of both the consumer and the lender.  Based on the results of a CFPB pilot program for electronic closings, the CFPB is strongly encouraging the mortgage industry to embrace innovation and "e-closings."