According to QuestSoft’s annual compliance survey of lenders, the recently enacted fee tolerance changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) continue to pose the greatest mortgage compliance concern in 2010. This marks the second year that RESPA has held the top spot among the lenders surveyed.
The poll rated the level of concern among 464 lenders for 12 regulatory changes affecting the mortgage industry this year. Eighty percent of respondents cited the adjustments to fee tolerance rules set forth in RESPA as a major concern for lending practices. Rounding out the top three concerns were Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) changes (74 percent cited major concern) and other RESPA issues (66 percent cited major concern).
“Even though RESPA’s new rules have been active for a few months, lenders are still concerned with how to comply with the fee tolerance rules and properly disclose loan terms to consumers,” said Leonard Ryan, president of QuestSoft. “Lenders are also closely watching predatory lending laws and new regulations at the state and local levels.”
Changes to federal, state and local lending laws remained the fourth highest concern, with 37 percent of lenders citing these potential changes as a major concern in 2010. Increased Fair Lending Exam scrutiny rounded out the top five with 31 percent of lenders claiming it as a major concern.
Ryan said one surprising result was the lack of concern for the multi-state exams many lenders will be facing by the end of 2010; with only 15 percent reporting it as a major concern.
“Even though 70 percent of QuestSoft’s client base will be subject to multi-state exams by the end of 2010, it ranked at the bottom of the survey,” Ryan said. “The placement of Truth-in-Lending changes planned for this summer as the second highest concern suggests that compliance professionals are being forced to deal with one new compliance crisis at a time.”
Ryan added that since lenders are so worried with the next immediate change, they will have to rely on their compliance partners to look ahead and prepare for more long-range compliance changes.
For more information, visit www.questsoft.com.
