The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reinstating some foreclosure timing requirements around Regulation X, it said in a joint statement with other government agencies.
The agencies had previously relaxed some timing requirements to help mortgage servicers deal with pandemic disruptions. They had vowed not to take supervisory or enforcement action against mortgage servicers who made good-faith efforts to deliver required notices or disclosures and took related actions within “a reasonable period of time.”
The CFPB believes that “temporary flexibility … is no longer necessary because servicers have had sufficient time to adjust their operations” to pandemic conditions, the agency said.
“Failures by mortgage servicers and regulators worsened the impact of the economic crisis a decade ago,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “Regulators have learned their lesson, and we will be scrutinizing servicers to ensure they are doing all they can to help homeowners and follow the law.”
Other guidance generally covering CARES Act implementation and its relationship to Reg X requirements remains in effect.
The agency issued the statement along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and state financial regulators.
The CFPB also issued a report summarizing its work to help struggling homeowners and avert another foreclosure crisis.