On November 18, 2015, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1737, known as the Reforming CFPB Indirect Auto Financing Guide Act (the “Auto Financing Act”), which rejected the position taken by the CFPB in its March 2013 bulletin on indirect auto lending. Although intended to provide guidance to auto lenders regarding compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the proponents of the Auto Financing Act have concluded that the effect of the CFPB’s bulletin has been to regulate auto lenders, which the CFPB is not permitted to do pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd Frank”). The bulletin has resulted in uncertainty in the auto lending market, as it impacts the interest rates lenders may offer to consumers. Although the bulletin is nonbinding, it has functioned as a rule because lawmakers have had no opportunity to comment on it. Accordingly, the Auto Financing Act provides that any replacement to the CFPB’s bulletin must go through the rulemaking process to allow for comments.
The House of Representatives also passed another bill on the same day, the Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act, H.R. 1210 (the “Mortgage Access Act”). The Mortgage Access Act provides that depository institutions can receive safe harbor protection for “qualified mortgages,” or “QMs,” even if the loans do not comply with Dodd Frank’s “ability to repay” requirement. This requirement, implemented as part of the CFPB’s amendments to Regulation Z, provides that a lender must make a reasonable, good-faith determination that a potential borrower has the ability to repay a loan prior to consummation. 12 C.F.R. 1026.43(c). To receive protection under the Mortgage Access Act without satisfying the ability to repay requirement, the lender must keep the loan in question on its own books. Lenders have been hesitant to issue new loans that do not qualify as QMs because such loans do not receive safe harbor protection, which would insulate the lender from claims made under the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z related to the qualified mortgage requirements. Proponents of the Mortgage Access Act believe that the unavailability of safe harbor protection for non-QM loans has resulted in potential borrowers being refused non-QM loans they could afford to repay. Although removal of the ability to repay requirement may afford less protection to consumers, supporters of the Mortgage Access Act believe that requiring lenders to keep these loans on their own books will deter them from issuing loans to borrowers who cannot afford them.
If enacted, the Auto Financing Act and Mortgage Access Act may allow both auto lenders and mortgage lenders more flexibility in their lending practices; however, the White House has indicated that it opposes both Acts, and has specifically stated that President Barack Obama will veto the Auto Financing Act if given the opportunity.