Find Out If You And Your Mortgage Marketing Partners Are CFPB Compliant

Home | Our Blog | Are You & Your Mortgage Marketing Partners CFPB Compliant?

August 16, 2013 | By RGR Marketing Blog

As if lenders didn’t have enough to worry about already, the recently established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been busy writing up all sorts of new regulations and guidelines. Are you and your partners compliant?

Once these guidelines have been fully adopted and appreciated, they will no doubt go a long way in simplifying the lending process and make it more comprehensible for lenders and consumers. In the meantime there is a need for mortgage companies to quickly bring all of their operations into full compliance with these new rules. Find out what processes your company should have adopted by now.

Lead Generation & Mortgage Marketing

We took a look at the rules and wanted to share with you some things you may have missed, such as examining not only your processes but those of your marketing partners as well. By now, mortgage companies should have already closely examined the following practices:

The way in which they generate new mortgage leads and refinance leads by looking at the advertising practices it has adopted as well as the practices of its partners.

Ensuring that all advertising copy and financing offers are not leading consumers to expect something which is not going to be received.

The following are some claims that the CFPB has determined to be "deceptive:"

Advertising as ‘‘fixed’’ a rate or payment that will change after a period of time, unless the advertisement meets certain criteria, such as having an equally prominent and closely proximate disclosure that the rate or payment is ‘‘fixed’’ for only a limited period of time;

Comparing actual or hypothetical rates or payments to the rates or payments on an advertised loan, unless the advertisement discloses the rates or payments that will apply over the full term of the advertised loan;

Misrepresenting an advertised loan as part of a ‘‘government loan program’’ or otherwise endorsed or sponsored by a government entity;

Using the name of the consumer’s current lender, unless the advertisement has an equally prominent disclosure of the person actually disseminating the advertisement and includes a clear and conspicuous statement that the advertiser is not associated with the consumer’s current lender;

Making any misleading claim that an advertised loan will eliminate debt or result in a waiver or forgiveness of a consumer’s existing loan terms with, or obligations to, another creditor;

Using the term ‘‘counselor’’ in an advertisement to refer to a for-profit mortgage broker or mortgage lender; and

Advertising mortgages in a language other than English while providing critical advertising disclosures only in English.

Also keep in mind, even if you are not directly responsible for the way in which your marketing partners produce leads, you are nevertheless held ultimately responsible by the CFPB for any misunderstandings created by a divergence between advertised results and actual results. If you sell mortgage refinance products companies need to pay close attention to the rules because refinancing often occurs in times of urgent need for the consumers, they may consent to, and even eagerly demand, something which they will regret agreeing to at some future date.

Here is a full chronology of actions relating to the mortgage industry and new CFPB rules by the NYTimes.

What It Means For Your Business

Like any other new bureaucracy, the CFPB is undoubtedly eager to get started doing its job and brings a level of zeal to its operations that will fade with time, but for now that zeal needs to be reciprocated by those who fall under its authority. Mortgage companies need to quickly apprise themselves of all new regulatory requirements and make doubly sure that their advertising partners are equally up to speed.

1. Delegate an employee with full-time responsibilities for all CFPB compliance issues or

2. Avail oneself of the services of a CFPB consultancy firm, which specializes in staying abreast of the latest in regulatory guidelines and interpretations. CFPB Consultancy Firms have a broader horizon from which to judge CFPB actions due to their ability to gather feedback from multiple clients and seek illumination and interpretation based on this plethora of data.

While it might be natural to look at the new CFPB regulations as an extra cost and burden to be endured, businesses should not overlook the potential for quick CFPB compliance to generate additional revenue for their company.

The company that has a sterling reputation with the CFPB could well find itself with a considerable advantage over other firms which find themselves enmeshed in business practices which the CFPB finds controversial at best. Regulation can serve to separate the firms with a good public reputation from those who lack one, and this is one of the best reasons to embrace the need for change.

Additional purchase leads or refinance leads will almost certainly flow away from firms that are slow to adopt the new guidelines, and CFPB expertise therefore represents an opportunity to gain market share over the competition.

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As if lenders didn’t have enough to worry about already, the recently established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been busy writing up all sorts of new regulations and guidelines. Are you and your partners compliant?

Lead Generation & Mortgage Marketing

The following are some claims that the CFPB has determined to be "deceptive:"

What It Means For Your Business

1. Delegate an employee with full-time responsibilities for all CFPB compliance issues or

Start making more
money today!

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As if lenders didn’t have enough to worry about already, the recently established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been busy writing up all sorts of new regulations and guidelines. Are you and your partners compliant?

Lead Generation & Mortgage Marketing

The following are some claims that the CFPB has determined to be "deceptive:"

What It Means For Your Business

1. Delegate an employee with full-time responsibilities for all CFPB compliance issues or

Start making more money today!

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