State mortgage examiners are focusing on systemic issues and using their
This is a sign that servicers "shouldn't assume there's an anti-regulatory environment," Nanci Weissgold, a partner at the law firm Alston & Bird, said at a Mortgage Bankers Association conference on Thursday.
The number of examinations conducted by state regulators, both on an individual basis and by the Multistate Mortgage Committee, is on the rise.
There were 16 examinations of 11 institutions by the MMC in 2015 and a similar number is expected this year, she said.
The CFPB works with the MMC to coordinate examination targets, but the MMC can also operate on its own.
Meanwhile, a number of states are stepping in with new regulations. Maryland is taking comments until March 6 on a proposal covering servicer record retention as well as the transfer of mortgage servicing rights, she said.
States will be concentrating on the safety and soundness aspect for servicers. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors is expected to finalize standards for nonbank servicers during this year.
The Washington Department of Financial Institutions has put in capital requirements for nonbank servicers. For those that deal with loans not guaranteed by the government or the government-sponsored enterprises, they must have a net worth of between $100,000 and $1 million, based on the loans serviced, or post a $1 million surety bond.
GSE and Ginnie Mae nonbank servicers must maintain liquidity, including capital reserves, at the highest standards for the entities they hold approval at, Weissgold said.
On the federal level, while there is speculation about the future of the CFPB, the industry cannot assume the servicer regulations set to go into effect in October and April 2018 will go away, said Wade Pyun, the vice president and senior corporate counsel for U.S. Bank Home Mortgage.
"For the industry, the approach has to be that we proceed under the assumption these rules will take effect" as scheduled, he said.
