Final rules

This rule amends Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to implement certain amendments to the Truth in Lending Act made by the Dodd-Frank Act. This rule amends the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the Bureau’s Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect changes in the asset-size thresholds for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan. These changes reflect updates to, together with affiliates that regularly extended covered transactions secured by first liens, had total assets of less than $2 billion (adjusted annually for inflation) and the exemption the Bureau added, by implementing section 108 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA), for certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with assets of $10 billion or less (adjusted annually for inflation). These amendments are based on the annual percentage change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Based on the 4.7 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2021, the exemption threshold for creditors and their affiliates that regularly extended covered transactions secured by first liens is adjusted to $2.336 billion from $2.230 billion. The exemption threshold for certain insured depository institutions and insured credit unions with assets of $10 billion or less (adjusted annually for inflation) is adjusted to $10.473 billion from $10 billion.

The Board and the Bureau are publishing final rules amending the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies’ regulations that implement the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended TILA by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions be adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). The Bureau is adjusting the amount based on the annual percentage change reflected in the Consumer Price Index in effect on June 1, 2021

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this final rule to amend Regulation X to assist mortgage borrowers affected by the COVID-19 emergency.

This interim final rule provides a regulatory exception for certain programs that allow borrowers to defer repayment of forborne or delinquent amounts that accrued due to the COVID-19 emergency.

The Bureau is amending Federal mortgage disclosure requirements under RESPA and TILA that are implemented in Regulation Z. 

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) issued a rule amending certain Regulation Z mortgage servicing rules issued in 2016 relating to periodic statements.  These amendments revise the timing requirements for servicers transitioning between modified or unmodified periodic statements and coupon books in connection with a consumer’s bankruptcy case.

The Bureau issued an interim final rule amending a provision in Regulation X that it issued in 2016 relating to the timing for mortgage servicers to provide modified written early intervention notices to borrowers who have invoked their cease communication rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The Bureau is making several technical corrections to a final rule it issued on Aug. 4, 2016 amending certain of the Bureau’s mortgage servicing regulations under Regulation X (implementing the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) and Regulation Z (implementing the Truth In Lending Act) (2016 Final Rule).

The Bureau is amending several mortgage servicing rules under Regulations X and Z, including provisions regarding loss mitigation, early intervention, and periodic statements.  The final rule also addresses successors in interest, debtors in bankruptcy, and borrowers who send a cease communication request under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The Bureau is issuing this interpretive rule to clarify the interaction of the FDCPA and certain mortgage servicing rules in Regulations X and Z.  It provides safe harbors from FDCPA liability for servicers under certain circumstances. 

This interim final rule amends certain provisions of Regulation Z in light of title LXXXIX of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, entitled the Helping Expand Lending Practices in Rural Communities Act, Public Law 114-94.

The Bureau is adopting a procedural rule establishing an application process under which a person may identify an area that has not been designated by the Bureau as a rural area for purposes of a federal consumer financial law.

The CFPB is amending Regulation X, which implements the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, and implementing a commentary that sets forth an official interpretation to the regulation. The CFPB is also amending Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act and the official interpretation to the regulation, which interprets the requirements of Regulation Z. These final rules implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act regarding mortgage loan servicing.

The final rule provides an alternative small servicer definition for nonprofit entities that meet certain requirements and amends the existing exemption from the ability-to-repay rule for nonprofit entities that meet certain requirements. The final rule also provides a cure mechanism for the points and fees limit that applies to qualified mortgages.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this interpretive rule to clarify that the Bureau's Ability-to-Repay Rule incorporates the existing definition of “assumption” under Regulation Z.

These amendments focus primarily on loss mitigation procedures under Regulation X's servicing provisions, amounts counted as loan originator compensation to retailers of manufactured homes and their employees for purposes of applying points and fees thresholds under the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act and the Ability-to-Repay rules in Regulation Z, exemptions available to creditors that operate predominantly in “rural or underserved” areas for various purposes under the mortgage regulations, application of the loan originator compensation rules to bank tellers and similar staff, and the prohibition on creditor-financed credit insurance. 

The final rule implements requirements and restrictions imposed by the Dodd-Frank Act concerning loan originator compensation; qualifications of, and registration or licensing of loan originators; compliance procedures for depository institutions; mandatory arbitration; and the financing of single-premium credit insurance. 

This final rule implements provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act regarding mortgage loan servicing. Specifically, this final rule implements Dodd-Frank Act sections addressing initial rate adjustment notices for adjustable-rate mortgages, periodic statements for residential mortgage loans, prompt crediting of mortgage payments, and responses to requests for payoff amounts. 

The Bureau’s Mortgage Servicing Final Rules amend Regulations X and Z. The Mortgage Servicing Final Rules implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and the Truth in Lending Act regarding mortgage loan servicing.