CFPB Publishes Request for Public Comment Regarding its Assessment of the 2013 Mortgage Servicing Rule

The CFPB is requesting public comment on its plan for assessing the mortgage servicing rules under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“Mortgage Servicing Rule”), as required by the Dodd-Frank Act.

The CFPB is required under the Dodd-Frank Act to conduct an assessment of each “significant rule” that it adopts and publish a report of the assessment no more than five years after the effective date of said rule.  The assessment must address the effectiveness of the rule in meeting the purposes and objectives of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act and the CFPB’s stated goals of the rule.  The CFPB must also request public comment on recommendations for modifying, expanding, or eliminating the rule before publishing the assessment report.

The CFPB considers the Mortgage Servicing Rule, which became effective on January 10, 2014, to be a significant rule.  Please note that the CFPB does not consider the mortgage servicing requirements contained in the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) to be a “significant rule” because, in the CFPB’s view, the additional ongoing costs and operational changes under TILA’s mortgage servicing requirements are small.

The CFPB is requesting the public to submit any information relevant to assessing the effectiveness of the Mortgage Servicing Rule.  Additionally, the CFPB is inviting public comment on the following: (1) the feasibility and effectiveness of the assessment plan, the objectives of the Mortgage Servicing Rule that the CFPB intends to emphasize in the assessment, and the outcomes, metrics, baselines, and analytical methods for assessing the effectiveness of the Mortgage Servicing Rule; (2) data and other factual information that may be useful for executing the CFPB’s assessment plan; (3) recommendations to improve the assessment plan, as well as data, other factual information, and sources of data that would be useful and available to execute any recommended improvements to the assessment plan; (4) data and other factual information about the benefits and costs of the rule for consumers, servicers, and others in the mortgage industry, and about the effects of the Mortgage Servicing Rule on transparency, efficiency, access, and innovation in the mortgage market; (5) data and other factual information about the Mortgage Servicing Rule’s effectiveness in meeting the purposes and objectives of Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act; and (6) recommendations for modifying, expanding or eliminating the Mortgage Servicing Rule.

The request for information regarding the Mortgage Servicing Rule is available here.