CFA recently filed two comment letters noting its opposition to the CFPB’s proposal to allow higher-priced mortgage loans obtain QM safe harbor status after a lender holds them in portfolio for 36 months. CFA noted that, as written, the proposal could disproportionately impact consumer of color and deprive the of the very assessments and consumer protections that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act intended to provide. CFA also noted that the Bureau already has at its disposal a much safer to expand access to credit for consumers with nontraditional credit profiles or income streams, namely, enforcing fair lending laws against lenders. 

 In its second comment letter, CFA joined with NCLC to challenge the rationale and legality of the CFPB’s proposed regulation. In both letters, CFA noted that it would be essential for the Bureau to maintain the existing minimal consumer protections and criteria contained in its initial proposal should the Agency choose to move forward with finalizing the regulation.