The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released their rulemaking agenda for the spring of 2016.  The CFPB is required to publish their regulatory agendas twice a year under the Regulatory Flexibility Act.  Major current initiatives within the mortgage category include the following:

Arbitration

Following a study from March 2015, the Bureau has been gathering feedback regarding the use of arbitration agreements.  The Bureau is considering whether to ban arbitration agreements from being used to compel arbitration of consumer class actions and whether this needs to be monitored.

Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule

The cornerstone of the broader “Know Before You Owe” mortgage initiative, the Bureau is looking to provide clarification and further regulatory guidance.

Larger participants and non-depository lender registration          

The Bureau will continue to further their nonbank supervisory authority, defining larger participants in markets providing financial products and services.  They are also considering whether rules requiring registration of these and other non-depository lenders would facilitate supervision.

Implementation of other mortgage rules

Follow-up rulemaking, where warranted, will continued to be released by the Bureau.  One area in particular is additional guidance regarding the amendments to HMDA. 

A longer term agenda for the Bureau is available through their website, and includes topics such as accurate credit reporting.