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To: Jeremy Yohe
From: Diane Tomb, Chief Executive Officer
Subject: ALTA Advocacy Update - November 16, 2021
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On Monday, President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. The last reauthorization of the federal government’s main funding mechanism for infrastructure passed in 2015 with 359 votes in the House and 85 votes in the Senate. This time, it only received 225 votes in the House after getting a good bipartisan showing in the Senate (69-30).
The law will make historic investments in our roads, bridges, water, sewer, rail, airports, broadband, etc. It includes $110 billion for roads and $66 billion for passenger and freight rail. There is also $65 billion each to upgrade the electricity grid and ensure broadband is available for the entire country. There also is $55 billion to clean up lead pipes so we have clean drinking water.
This type of spending benefits local communities as it helps them address maintenance backlogs. It is also good for the economy. Most economic studies suggest property values tend to increase between $2 to $4.75 for every $1 of adjacent infrastructure investment. As an industry whose revenue is tied to land value, there is an obvious upside to having government policy that produces sustainable appreciation. Better roads (and fewer potholes) also mean fewer repairs to our cars.
This is why ALTA joined most of the business and real estate community, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Homebuilders, Real Estate Roundtable, National Association of Realtors, in supporting the overall bill. We support good policy that helps our members, not one political party or president.
One of the reasons why the bill got little bipartisan support in the House is the notion that politics is a zero-sum game. This is a concept that you should never do anything with the other party for fear that it helps them politically. This sentiment is the opposite the title industry’s core values. Everyday you bring people together to—an increasingly virtual—closing table to get the deal done honestly, fairly and according to the contract. Your customers trust you to deliver for them and sweat the small stuff to assure that land transfer is accurate, swift and secure. I hope our politicians can learn this lesson from our industry and focus on working to propel our country forward.
CFPB and Other Banking Regulators Announce End to Flexible Supervision of Mortgage Servicers
On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and several other government agencies issued a joint statement that announced a return to “enforcement of critical protections.” This is the latest sign of the CFPB moving back toward a more aggressive supervision and enforcement posture.
In April 2020, regulators told servicers they would not take supervisory or enforcement actions against servicers for failing to meet timing requirements for certain notices and disclosures as long as they made a good faith effort in a reasonable amount of time. This was meant to give servicers some breathing room to focus on helping struggling borrowers get into forbearance and ultimately modification agreements.
Joining the CFPB in the statement are the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., National Credit Union Administration, Office of the Comptroller of Currency and state financial regulators.
Under the new guidance effective Nov. 10, the respective agencies will again start penalizing servicers that are not in full compliance with Regulation X during examinations. In addition, the CFPB also released a report detailing its mortgage servicer efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and said they will continue “targeted data collection and evaluation efforts to assess how individual servicers performed for consumers exiting forbearance.”
In September, the national delinquency rate fell below 4% for the first time in 18 months according to Black Knight. There are still 1.24 million loans in forbearance. Thanks to higher home values, the potential wave of foreclosures most thought was coming during the pandemic may be lower than expected.
CFPB Seeks Comments on Inquiry into Large Tech Companies
On Nov. 5, 2021, the CFPB published a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comments on its inquiry into large technology providers and their payments systems. The request for comments follows the announcement last month that the Bureau sent orders to six large technology platforms offering payment services that directs them to provide information to the CFPB about their payments products and services and their collection and use of personal payments data.
The notice states that the Bureau invites comments from “any interested parties, including consumers, small businesses, advocates, financial institutions, investors, and experts in privacy, technology, and national security.” Comments must be received by Dec. 6, 2021.
Relax and Learn at a Digital Closing & eMortgage Boot Camp
It’s been another successful (but busy) year. We’re still dealing with COVID. The holidays are coming. You’re stressed. However, as Freddie Mercury sang, “Time Waits For No One.” Because of this, we’ve scheduled two upcoming ALTA, MBA & MISMO Digital Closing & eMortgage Boot Camps in cities where you can learn and relax—places where we can plan our digital closing hopes together!
Your first opportunity to attend Boot Camp is Dec. 6-7, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. (Following this Boot Camp, the Texas Land Title Association (TLTA) will host its 31st Annual Robert C. Sneed Texas Land Title Institute from Dec. 9-10. For more information on the TLTA event, visit tlta.com.)
The second Boot Camp will be held Jan. 13-14, 2022, in Clearwater, Fla. The Early Bird rate for this event expires Dec. 1. Register today and save $100!
You can also take advantage of a BOGO offer and bring a colleague, friend or even a lender client for free! (The discount code will be provided in the confirmation email after registering. Share the code with the person you want to register for free.)
Technology experts and industry leaders will cover cutting-edge topics to help you successfully implement and grow digital closings. The Boot Camps will provide:
- Opportunities to network with lenders and other title companies implementing digital closing processes
- Strategies to innovate and improve customer experiences and operational efficiencies
- The chance to learn about vendors and available technology solutions
Learn More
I hope this ALTA Advocacy Update is useful to your work this week. Your comments and questions are always welcome. I can be reached at dtomb@alta.org.
Best regards,
Diane Tomb
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