CFPB Director Cordray Resigns

An update on CFPB; TRID Improvement; ALTA Registry; and Legislation

Dear Members,

I hope you are doing well in what folks say is a strong Florida economy. The hurricane(s) definitely set the real estate market back a bit but we are seeing strong evidence of recovery in most areas of the state. Our friends in the Keys continue to need our support as their recovery efforts are still a challenge.

It’s been about a month since my last email to you and, as the saying goes, times flies whether you are having fun or not! I stand behind my promise to not send emails unless I have something of value to say but don’t interpret silence to mean that nothing is going on. My team and I are focused on important several topics: E-closings, Bitcoin and real estate closings, partnering with other vendors in our industry, etc. Below are some other issues of interest.

CFPB Director Cordray Resigns

Cordray announced a week or so ago that he will step down as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at the end of November. I think this time it is real, and his resignation has sparked a fair amount of industry discussion about what is next.

Here is information that I pulled from the ALTA News Alert:

At this point, CFPB's leadership will remain as a single director since it would take Congressional action to change the structure to a bipartisan independent commission. Cordray's departure will certainly spur interest in the legislation to change the CFPB to be led by a commission, a bill ALTA supports. Early chatter on potential candidates to fill the position include Jeb Hensarling, Randy Neugebauer, Mark Calabria, Andrew Olmem and Jared Sawyer.

Related Issue: TRID Improvement Act of 2017

ALTA is working on a bill in Congress to amend Dodd-Frank to “fix” the weird and wacky way we are required to disclose title insurance premiums. It is working its way through the House of Representatives, having favorably passed through a committee or two. A Senate version is in the works. I will keep you posted.

ALTA Registry

You may have heard about the ALTA Registry for settlement/closing agents. It is now “live” and I want you to be better informed in case this comes up in discussions with lenders and other transaction partners. ALTA has likened their Registry to “a phone book that allows lenders to know they are working with the correct company.”

In addition to confirming information about the title insurance agent, the national ALTA Registry assigns a unique identification number, the ALTA ID, to each agent and underwriter location for more precise identification.

You do not need to be a full member of ALTA to register and there is no cost. ALTA will open the Registry for lender use in 2018 so they are encouraging title agents across the country to register. At this point, I would characterize The Fund’s position as one of “suggesting” that you do this….maybe even “encouraging” you to do so. Get more info at www.alta.org/registry.

Legislation, Legislation, Legislation

It is heating up. We are keeping our eyes on several bills working their way through pre-session: MRTA revisions; Remote/electronic notarization; protection of private information in the public records; restrictions on promotional gifts; alerts for changes to corporate/LLC information; doc stamps exemption for conveyances between spouses….just to name a few. The session begins in early January, so we will be kicking into high gear right after the holidays and will keep you informed.

Have a great 2017 holiday season! Let me know how we can help you.

Best Regards,

Melissa Jay Murphy
Senior Vice President and General Counsel