Attend the Appraisal Rules and Standards, RESPA Requirements, and Banking Servicemembers Seminar from the convenience of your own office or home via Live Streaming Video as it happens on Wednesday, May 18th (9:00 am – 4:00 pm Central Time), or at your own convenience with 12 months of OnDemand playback.

Banking Servicemembers: Rules, Regulations, and Issues to Be Aware Of

One of a financial institution's greatest reputation risks is the mistreatment of servicemembers. Issues involving servicemembers are among the most critically important to regulators, so it's essential to understand the requirements and get them right. Financial Institutions have been taking great care not to treat service members and their family members less favorably, due to these compliance and reputation risks problems in this area present. But what exactly are the rules?

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is the most well-known, of course. But there are other considerations, such as fair lending and even UDAAP. And the Military Lending Act (MLA) regulations cover different loans than does the SCRA. What we've seen over the last few years are lenders that believe they don't have issues to deal with for military customers that are unfortunately taken by surprise. Does your institution know the rules, and what to do and not do? The SCRA and MLA aren't the only issues to contend with either, as the CFPB has been particularly active when it comes to servicemember issues and concerns.

This live streaming session is designed to address all these issues, so you can be prepared. Know what it means to reduce the interest rate on active duty borrowers to 6%, as well as various other protections against foreclosure and other areas. Know how to determine whether you have a "covered borrower" under the MLA and SCRA, as the standards are different. We'll also talk about some of the more recent enforcement actions taken against other institutions, to learn from others' mistakes.

Appraisal Rules and Standards: Compliance with Changing Standards

The past few years have seen a significant emphasis on real estate appraisals and evaluation rules and regulations. With attention on credit standards increasing in general, it's more important than ever to be aware of the rules. Revised Interagency Guidelines and requirements for consumer real estate loans under Reg Z have been in place for years, and we've seen additional requirements finalized recently. Just in the last few years, we've seen significant proposed and final regulations changing some thresholds and providing some additional exceptions from the requirement. In some cases (called "flipping transactions"), lenders even have to obtain two appraisals on the same property for one loan. And of course, COVID-19 has proved challenging, and in response, some leeway has been provided for appraisals.

Because breakdowns in appraisal practices were partly blamed for the mortgage crisis, regulators raised their expectations; lenders' appraisal and evaluation programs must include more elements than ever before. Some themes now emphasized by the agencies are independence of the appraiser, evaluator, reviews, and qualifications. There are also limitations to using AVMs (automated valuation models), BPOs (broker price opinions), and similar evaluations such as tax valuations that must be accounted for.

Do you know the requirements? We'll provide in-depth details of the appraisal and valuation process, from both the lender and appraiser side of the game, to provide a thorough understanding of what is required and what you need.

RESPA Requirements: Compliance in Today’s Mortgage Environment

Contrary to popular belief (and some wishful thinking), RESPA hasn't gone away. Sure, TRID gutted most of RESPA's disclosure requirements, but the rule itself didn't disappear. In fact, there are many provisions that have been added to RESPA since the mortgage crisis, most notably servicing requirements for distressed borrowers. And in this time of the pandemic, there are unfortunately more distressed borrowers than we wish there would be. But that makes compliance with the requirements all that more important.

This streaming session will address all of RESPA's requirements, both from an origination as well as servicing standpoint. The escrow rules are still in place, and the regulatory agencies have a renewed focus on Section 8 issues. Make sure you understand what these requirements are and are able to include them in your mortgage lending compliance processes.

Carl Pry is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) and Certified Risk Professional (CRP) who is a Managing Director for Treliant Risk Advisors in Washington, DC. Through his working career, as well as through his experience as a banking attorney and officer, he has provided a variety of regulatory compliance and financial performance services to financial institutions and other clients throughout the country. He has written extensively regarding consumer and commercial compliance, tax, audit, and financial institution legal issues, and is a frequent contributor to and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the ABA Bank Compliance magazine. He has spoken at scores of banking, compliance, and state bar associations, and has conducted training sessions for financial institutions across the country.