There has been a lot of regulation dropped on the Mortgage Industry in the last few years, and lenders are struggling to keep up. While the attention Diva’s like TRID and Loan Originator Compensation have stolen the show, it is likely that many companies are missing regulatory training demands that do not get the full attention of the media. One of the areas that seem lacking is the minimum required regulatory training that employees of any lender, and of any size, must take. Few lenders are keeping up; others offer bits and pieces of this training, and some are failing miserably in their attempt to add this training. Notable too is that Wholesale Lenders are required to ensure that their brokers have met these training requirements.
The CFPB does not have a comprehensive “checklist” for what is and is not required training. Nor, do they have the minimum requirements or certified courses. Lenders must make best efforts as to what is required of us by:
- Reading the Regulations
- Reading Enforcement Actions
- Asking Our Peers What the CFPB Required When Examined
As you evaluate your training programs, I want you to consider the following:
-Is the purpose of the training to just check off a box?
-Or, is the purpose of the training to affect employee behavior so that your risk is minimized?
What you choose will have a direct impact on the success or failure of your next exam. The CFPB expects you to demonstrate that regulatory training results in proper behavior of those employed by, or doing business with, your company. It is not just about checking off a training box. You may check off a box by offering a quick training module, but you will not affect employee behavior, which is after all the point behind the regulation!
Here are the “as a minimum” training requirements passed on to me by an informal poll of compliance professionals. Some of these professionals have been through a CFPB exam, others have not but network with lenders that have. Remember, you must prove that your team has completed the training and tested their comprehension. Important stuff!
Regulatory Training as a Minimum-Must be done YEARLY and when Onboarding a New Employee
- Fair Lending (Two recent settlements mandated a 4-hour course on this subject)
-The FHA (The Fair Housing Act)
-ECOA-Regulation B (Equal Credit Opportunity Act)
-Bias
-Mystery Shopping (I’m adding this because if your originators and processors are not well-trained they may cause your company more problems than you want to deal with)
- HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act)
- Loan Originator Rule (specifically directed to loan originators and your company policy)
- SAFE Act (Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act)
- UDAAP (Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts and Practices)
- RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act)
- TILA (Truth in Lending Act)
- TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure)
- FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)
- BSA/AML (Bank Secrecy Act & Anti-Money Laundering)
- GLBA (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act-Safeguarding Customer Information)
- Fraud
- Social Media
Optional but Important are:
- CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
- FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act)
- QM/ATR (Qualified Mortgage & Ability to Repay)
Is something missing from our list? If so, please comment below. We’re all trying to help each other get through this!
If you want Fair Lending training that is interactive, interesting to learn and directly impacts the behavior of your staff, email me at tammybutler@fairlendingdiversity.com.
We offer The Fair Housing Act, ECOA, HMDA (for employees, not practitioners), Bias and Mystery Shopping. The response so far from our lender clients, has been fantastic and we would love to share it with your team! All training is customizable, delivered in varying formats and will help get your team on the right track!
