NAMB Seeks Industry Input on Ability to Repay and QM Rule Assessment

NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals has called on its membership to respond to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Request for Information Regarding Ability-to-Repay/Qualified Mortgage Rule Assessment.

 

In an e-mail from Michelle Velez, the 2017 Chairwoman of NAMB’s Government Affairs Committee, the trade group stated that input on this issue would “address the unintended consequences that affect low and moderate income borrowers and small business mortgage brokerage shops.” NAMB pointed to the potential damage that the Dodd-Frank Act’s Qualified Mortgage points and fee cap would have on small business mortgage brokers and low- and moderate-income borrowers, as well as a potential shrinkage in competition that would ultimately hurt consumers.

 

“Since 2011, all compensation paid by creditors to mortgage broker companies is fixed, without any possibility for variation from transaction to transaction, as a result of the Loan Originator Compensation Rules issued by the Federal Reserve Board and the CFPB,” Velez stated. “This is a strong additional layer of consumer protection for borrowers utilizing a mortgage broker company and another reason why creditor compensation to a broker company should not be double-counted in the definition of points and fees. These parameters prohibit mortgage brokers from steering consumers to any specific loan or lender.”

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