The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is adjusting supervisory and enforcement activities to weigh the circumstances of firms responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is postponing reporting requirements including those used to spot discrimination in mortgage lending.
The CFPB said in a press release Thursday that it does not intend to initiate enforcement actions for failure to report certain types of data. That includes reporting related to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act as well as other credit card and prepaid card data.
The bureau also issued a policy statement on its supervisory and enforcement response to the pandemic, saying it encourages prudent efforts taken by financial institutions to meet the needs of borrowers and customers.
"When conducting examinations and other supervisory activities and in determining whether to take enforcement action, the Bureau will consider the circumstances that entities may face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and will be sensitive to good-faith efforts demonstrably designed to assist consumers," it said.
The regulator will also work with affected financial institutions in scheduling exams and other supervisory activities “to minimize disruption and burden.”
On mortgage data collection, the bureau said it does not intend to cite mortgage lenders for failing to report quarterly HMDA data that is due by May 30. Firms still need to continue collecting and recording HMDA data for annual submissions. The bureau will provide information at a later date on how and when to begin quarterly HMDA submissions.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the additional funding Congress approved Thursday to help small businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic should be the last round, but advocates fear it’ll run out quickly and won’t be enough for mom-and-pop shops struggling to stay open.
There is no doubt that we all live and operate in a profoundly changed reality, in which the state of continuous change has become the "new normal."
![“We want to make sure that our cash [inflows] exceed our cash outflows, so again, we’re looking at a lot of different things, and premiums being one of them, but there are other things that we’re considering as well," FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery said.](https://arizent.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5c8d980/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1260x709+0+0/resize/1024x577!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsource-media-brightspot.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fc0%2Fd2%2F5bd96a5a4a9eb632ac3bfd4b8da9%2Fmontgomery-brian-fha.png)
The Federal Housing Administration has provided struggling homeowners with payment flexibility and explored other measures. At the same time, the agency is mindful of protecting itself against downside risks.
In addition, the CFPB said that it is temporarily suspending certain reporting requirements for credit card and prepaid accounts under the Truth in Lending Act, Regulation Z and Regulation E. The agency said it does not expect companies to report quarterly submissions of consumer credit card agreements, annual submissions of agreements between card issuers and institutions of higher education, certain credit card price and availability information, and submission of prepaid account agreements.
The bureau also is postponing two surveys. One is a small-business lending survey required under Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act that would subject small-business lenders to data-reporting obligations similar to HMDA.
The other is a survey of firms that provide green-energy loans that finance home upgrades such as solar panels or cooling and heating systems for Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, known as PACE loans.
“As consumers seek temporary relief from lenders, the pandemic is impacting the operations of financial companies that are eager to help their customers during this unprecedented time,” CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger said in the press release. “Our actions today are temporary and targeted to support consumers by allowing financial companies to focus their resources on assisting consumers."
The CFPB released guidance last week along with federal prudential regulators encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with borrowers and other customers affected by COVID-19 to meet their financial needs.
“We will continue to issue additional guidance and policies to facilitate the ongoing collaborative relationship between companies and their customers during this time," Kraninger said.
