MBA State Relations Committee Update State Highlights
Advocacy News and Information From the Latest Issue of the MBA State Relations Committee Update
MBA staff attended the annual American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) Conference, which this year featured 120 state mortgage regulators from 41 states. During the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) Ombudsman meeting, MBA delivered an unambiguous message to staff from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that written implementation guidance for its new registry of nonbank enforcement orders is needed immediately. The final regulation was announced on June 3 with a mid-October start date for some lenders to begin submitting data. The rule included a provision to allow entities on the NMLS to comply by uploading information in the NMLS Consumer Access database, but CFPB has not yet provided any written guidance or process for complying with this costly new mandate. CFPB noted only that compliance tools would be released "soon." Compounding the industry’s disappointment was news during the meeting from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) that NMLS Consumer Access will be unable to provide any digital interface from the NMLS to the new CFPB registry, which would have provided a convenient method of uploading data required to take advantage of the rule's option to provide CFPB with historical NMLS information. MBA opposed this proposal, as did a broad coalition of state regulators in a separate letter. Both industry and regulators remarked on how www.NMLSConsumerAccess.org already achieves CFPB's objectives, has functioned effectively for a decade and a half, is included in hundreds of industry advertisements every day, and is free and well known to consumers and all other stakeholders. The CFPB ignored these commonsense arguments in finalizing the rule and has thus far failed to provide any instructions or training in how to implement it. MBA will continue to urge CFPB to deliver compliance instructions and tools as soon as possible and will share any new developments on this issue.
MBA staff attended the National Conference of State Legislator’s (NCSL) Legislative Summit, an event that consistently draws thousands of state legislative leaders and staff from across the country including many from key housing financial services committees. MBA engaged in sessions on artificial intelligence, housing supply, and the homeowner’s insurance crisis to urge policy makers to work with state and local associations and to take advantage of MBA resources such as industry research and data. MBA also urged state representatives to move cautiously on any legislation that could produce unintended and detrimental impacts to mortgage origination and servicing, such as fast-moving efforts to regulate the use of artificial intelligence. MBA’s attendance in these sessions not only provided context to the issues within each state, but also demonstrated to legislators that the industry is constructively engaged in their deliberations and available to serve as a resource. NCSL is essentially a trade association of state legislators who share ideas and develop model legislation for individual states to use as a baseline. Industry engagement is vital at NCSL and meetings of other state policymakers to ensure that MBA member views are represented in any “model bill” process that could directly impact future legislation across the country. MBA will follow up with state association partners to support their advocacy.