CFPB Issues Policy Guidance Regarding Early Compliance with 2016 Mortgage Servicing Final Rule

On June 30, 2017, the CFPB published a policy guidance stating it does not intend to take enforcement action for violations of existing Regulation X or Regulation Z that result from a servicer’s compliance with the 2016 Mortgage Servicing Final Rule (Final Rule) during the three days before the applicable effective dates of this rule.

The CFPB will allow early compliance with the Final Rule because it recognizes that the midweek effective dates of this rule (Thursday, October 19, 2017, and Thursday, April 19, 2018) may cause operational challenges that can expose consumers to risks, and it will therefore afford servicers the ability to use the weekend immediately before each of the effective dates to update and test the compliance of their systems with the Final Rule.

Consequently, for the sections of the Final Rule that are effective on Thursday, October 19, 2017, a servicer can start compliance on Monday, October 16, 2017.  For the sections effective on April 19, 2018, a servicer can start compliance on Monday, April 16, 2018.

The full text of the guidance can be found here.