CFPB Releases Final Rule on Qualified Mortgages

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its final rule on Thursday, establishing new standards for all mortgages.
 
A portion of the long-awaited rule from the CFPB, created under the Dodd-Frank reform law, focused on loans described as qualified mortgages. The bureau designed the rules to allow more loans to attain qualified mortgage status, which are considered to be ultrasafe.
 
"Our goal here is not only to stop reckless lending, but to enable consumers to access affordable credit," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in prepared remarks to be delivered Thursday in Baltimore. "We can draw up the greatest consumer protections ever devised, but if consumers cannot get credit, then there is nothing to protect."
 
American Banker's Rachel Witkowski and Joe Adler provide a guide to the complex provisions, including a breakdown of how the new regulation will treat loans owned by the government-sponsored enterprises.
 
For the full piece see "Cheat Sheet: What the CFPB's Qualified Mortgage Rule Means to Lenders" (may require subscription).