Speakers at Assembly 2017 and an Update on TRID

Also included: Do you think you’d be a great speaker at 2017 Fund Assembly?

Dear Members,

Everyone is in the final throes of summer – so much going on between back-to-school stuff, Rio Olympics, expanded FinCEN coverage, proposed TRID rule changes...... and only 22 DAYS UNTIL THE KICKOFF OF GATOR FOOTBALL SEASON!!

In the middle of all of this, we have already begun planning for Fund Assembly 2017. “Are you crazy, Murphy?” you may ask. Perhaps. But we are always looking for new ideas and ways to make Fund Assembly better every year and so we begin brainstorming early. Here is the first new idea: if you have a great suggestion for a topic and speaker (perhaps yourself), then we invite you to apply! Here is a link to an electronic form that you can fill out – it will be automatically sent to us after you complete it. Our Assembly Team will contact you after we have reviewed the information you provide. Before you send in your application, please read the following disclosures:

• You are sending in an application. There is no guarantee that your topic or your role as a speaker will be selected. We are pretty particular about speakers and topics, so if you have an issue with rejection, be forewarned.

• We may suggest that your topic be combined with others or presented to a smaller group in a “breakout” session. Again, if you have a fragile ego, be aware that we may have a different view of your topic.

• Topics are not limited to substantive law, but we do put an emphasis on maximizing the CLE credits that can be earned.

• Applications must be received by September 9, 2016.

CFPB recently issued its Notice of Proposed Rule Changes with 293 pages of rule-making history, context-setting and then – finally – proposed changes to the “Know Before You Owe” rules and Official Commentary. Most of the proposed changes are only of real interest to lenders and software developers, but a few have some impact on the role of settlement agents. This week I want to focus on a topic which is addressed in the proposal and has caused quite a bit of discussion and confusion over the past year – whether it is “permissible” to share the Borrower or Seller Closing Disclosures (CDs) with any third party (realtor, HOA, etc.).

The CFPB is proposing additional commentary to that portion of the rule which currently allows the separation of buyer and seller information into separate CDs. The purpose is simply to allow for the sharing of documents which do not conflict with the privacy laws of certain states (not Florida). In its explanation of the need for these changes, the CFPB expressly uses it as an opportunity to address the industry-wide concern that the CFPB will invoke the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and impose massive fines if the consumer’s non-public personal information (NPI) is divulged to others via the sharing of the CDs.

The CFPB opines that an exception within GLBA (Sec. 502(e)(1) in conjunction with Sec. 509(7)(A)) allows NPI to be shared with “interested third parties,” when sharing is the “usual, appropriate, or acceptable method” to provide a record of the transaction. The CFPB then offers its conclusion that the sharing of the CD with interested third parties fits within this GLBA exception.

So, can you start sharing the forms? Not so fast! As the CFPB reminds us in the proposal, the “Know Before You Owe” rules currently do not prohibit sharing the forms, so this changes nothing as far as those rules are concerned. Sharing always has been and continues to be a lender directed issue, and perhaps with this assurance by the CFPB lenders will begin to retreat from the prohibition found in their closing instructions. If they do so, one should still consider the advisability of having borrowers and sellers give written permission before sharing these forms based upon your consideration of any ethical constraints which may still apply. Can you share the forms? Only to interested parties and only with your lender’s permission.

I hope you found this helpful! Thank you for all you do to support The Fund!

Best Regards,

Melissa Jay Murphy
Senior Vice President and
General Counsel