Some applaud the agency's recent delay of the mandatory compliance date for a new Qualified Mortgage standard. Others say it leads to more uncertainty for lenders, opens the door to additional changes and enables some companies to loosen their underwriting.
Acting Director Dave Uejio said Tuesday that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will push back implementation of the qualified mortgage rule and may amend or revoke other Trump-era rules that have yet to take effect.
Acting Director Dave Uejio wrote in a blog post that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau needs more time to consider rules that were finalized under the Trump administration but have not yet gone into effect.
The consumer bureau's revamp of criteria for "qualified mortgages," a special regulatory class of loans free from liability, emphasizes pricing instead of a borrower's debt-to-income ratio.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its Qualified Mortgage standard is alarming free-market advocates who say it will precipitate a return to easy credit and higher defaults and could disproportionately harm minorities.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the proposal would increase access to credit, but consumer groups argue that it will encourage lenders to make high-cost loans while protecting them from legal liability.
The agency's director said both steps will come as part of an ongoing review of agency rules and show "my commitment under the law to be effective and evidence based” in providing clarity to stakeholders.
The agency is sending a strong message that it won’t rush to end an exemption for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while also signaling longer-term changes that will affect all lenders.
