Advocacy | CMLA

Urging Congress to consider and pass HR 3172, The Helper Act, providing no-down mortgages for every local protector, educator, and responder.

Giving these working families more options to buy a home and live near where they work
Will be housed at HUD
Will be paid for by upfront insurance premiums (3.6%) so taxpayers protected; no monthly MI.

Regulatory Relief for community-based, independent lenders

CFPB exams only upon referral from another regulator
A statutory definition of responsible, small community-based lenders that would be eligible, on an equal basis, for all current and future exemptions from regulatory requirements

GSE Reform that will preserve equal, capital markets access for independent,community-based lenders

Recapitalize the companies to a reasonable level consistent with actual risk; move toward administrative release with safeguards.
Convert Fannie and Freddie into utilities providing the liquidity and products to lenders that will allow them to serve the home financing needs of consumers
Ensure that Fannie and Freddie will continue to serve community-based, independent lenders on an equal basis, including equal pricing and other terms, with all other lenders.
Ensuring that harmful PSPA amendments from January 2021 are suspended permanently.
Establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework that will focus GSE purchase and securitization activity on traditional mortgage products underwritten to appropriate standards, with flexibility to address affordability needs, particularly for first time and minority buyers

Loan Officer Compensation, allowing adjustments in the compensation paid to Loan Officers based on the following:

Loan originators to be allowed to voluntarily lower their compensation in response to demonstrable competition in order to pass along the savings to the consumer.
Loan originator’s compensation to be allowed to be reduced by the lender when the originator makes an error.
Lenders to be allowed to alter loan compensation in order to offer loans made under state and local housing finance agency (HFA) programs as well as those programs offered with lower margins due to specific arrangements between the lender and program sources such as portfolio lenders or independent investors.
CFPB to explore ways to generally simplify and clarify the LO Comp rule. The rule broadly prohibits compensation based on loan terms or proxies for terms while providing a short list of expressly permissible compensation factors.

QM Patch

To continue the QM patch indefinitely or the development of a policy allowing the standards associated with the patch to be established for the industry.