The Federal Financial Forum

From: Reverse Mortgage Daily

by Cassandra Dowell

Revisions intended to streamline and improve certain mortgage procedures are among the top priorities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as 2015 fast approaches.

The CFPB’s fall 2014 rulemaking agenda revisits its July proposal to amend Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).

The proposal, now in the final rule stage, aims to simplify the process for financial institutions and gain more insight into consumers’ access to mortgage credit.

The proposal also included revisions to its regulations to bring about changes to institutional and transactional coverage, modifications of reporting requirements, and clarifications of other existing regulatory provisions.

From: Troutman Sanders

By H. Scott Kelly and Michael E. Lacy

For the second time in recent weeks, a federal official has issued a warning regarding potential security weaknesses with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s consumer data-mining program.  In an October 30 report, United States Inspector General Mark Bialek warned CFPB Director Richard Cordray that the IG office had “identified information security as a major management challenge for the CFPB due to the advanced, persistent threat to government information technology infrastructure.”  He cautioned that “improvements are needed in four high-priority security risk areas: continuous monitoring, configuration management, security training, and incident response and reporting.”

From: The Wall Street Journal

Holders to Have Limited Ability to Borrow Money, Protections Against Lost or Stolen Cards

By Alan Zibel And Robin Sidel

WASHINGTON—Consumers who use prepaid debit cards would have limited ability to borrow money but would receive protections against lost or stolen cards and easy access to account information under a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposal.

The proposed rules, to be released Thursday, are the most comprehensive set of federal standards for the fast-growing prepaid industry. Consumers are expected to load nearly $100 billion onto general-purpose prepaid cards this year, up from $19.5 billion six years ago, according to Mercator Advisory Group Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on the payments industry.

From: ACA International