[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63007-63009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30067]
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[[Page 63008]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing
Commissioner
24 CFR Part 3500
[Docket No. FR-3780-N-03]
RIN 2502-AG40
Mortgage Broker Fee Disclosure Rule: Notice of Establishment of
Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee and of First Meeting
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing
Commissioner, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of a negotiated rulemaking advisory
committee and of first meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Department is announcing the establishment of a Negotiated
Rulemaking Advisory Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA). The first objective of the committee would be to determine
whether or not the amount and nature of indirect payments to mortgage
brokers and certain other mortgage originators (retail lenders) should
be disclosed to consumers. Second, the committee will seek to resolve
whether the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) permits
volume-based compensation from wholesale lenders, entities that
purchase mortgage loans, to mortgage brokers and, if such compensation
is found permissible, whether and how the compensation should be
disclosed. The committee consists of representatives with a definable
stake in the outcome of a proposed rule. A charter for the committee
has been approved pursuant to the FACA, Executive Order 12838, and the
implementing regulations. This notice also announces the time and place
of the first committee meeting, which will be open to the public.
DATES: The first meeting of the committee will take place December 13-
14, 1995, and will be open to the public. On Wednesday, December 13,
the meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. and run until completion; on
Thursday, December 14, the meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. and run
until approximately 1:00 p.m. If participants and the facilitator
agree, the second day of the meeting may be extended beyond the
projected completion time of 1:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The first meeting of the committee will be held in Courtroom
A of the International Trade Commission Building, 500 E Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20436.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David R. Williamson, Director, RESPA
Enforcement Unit, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Room
5241, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500; telephone
(202) 708-4560, or on e-mail through Internet at drwilliamson@hud.gov.
The TDD number for persons who are hearing- or speech-impaired is (202)
708-4594 (TDD). (These telephone numbers are not toll-free.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 25, 1995 (60 FR 54794), HUD published a notice of intent
to establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee to discuss and
negotiate a proposed rule to discuss the treatment under RESPA,
including disclosure requirements, of indirect payments to retail
lenders and of volume-based compensation to mortgage brokers. The
October 25 notice also announced that the first meeting of the
committee could be held in late 1995, if the charter for the committee
was approved. Subsequent to the publication of the October 25 notice,
the charter for the committee was approved pursuant to the FACA,
Executive Order 12838, and the implementing regulations at 41 CFR 101-
6.1007. Because the Department noted the tentative schedule for the
first meeting in the October 25 notice and wants to commence the
negotiating process quickly, the first meeting has been scheduled for
December 13-14, 1995. Members of the committee have been contacted
directly by the Department about this schedule.
The October 25 notice requested comment concerning the proposed
membership of the Committee. After review of the comments and for the
reasons stated in the notice of intent, the Department has determined
that establishing a negotiated rulemaking advisory committee on this
subject is necessary and in the public interest.
The Department received eight comments on the October 25 notice.
Six of the eight commenters requested that a member of their
organization be included in the negotiating committee.
Specifically, four commenters suggested that lenders who
concentrate on other mortgage products, such as home equity loans, B
and C loans, and reverse mortgages, should be included. These
commenters were the American Financial Services Association, the
National Home Equity Mortgage Association, the Title One Home
Improvement Lenders Association, and Transamerica HomeFirst, a reverse
mortgage lender. In order to keep the negotiated rulemaking body
manageable and balanced, the Department concluded that with the
addition of the American Financial Services Association, the most
diverse of these organizations, the interests of junior lien and
reverse mortgage lenders would be adequately represented. Moreover, the
American Financial Services Association has indicated that it would
itself consult with other affected organizations.
Two additional national industry groups requested membership. HUD
has determined that these organizations should be added to the
committee because they represented types of lending institutions that
are not already adequately represented on the committee: the
Independent Bankers Association of America represents community banks
and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions represents
Federal credit unions.
All those who expressed interest in participating in the negotiated
rulemaking committee are reminded that meetings of the committee are
open to the public.
Facilitator
As stated in the October 25 notice, the Honorable Alan W. Heifetz,
Chief Administrative Law Judge, will be the facilitator for the
Committee.
Substantive Issues for Negotiation
The issues identified in the convening report were identified and
discussed in the October 25 notice and in a proposed rule on this same
subject recently published by the Department (60 FR 47650, September
13, 1995). The Department received approximately 800 comments on the
proposed rule; these comments are available for public inspection and
copying between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays at the Rules Docket
Clerk, Office of General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing and
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20410. The
comments also will be made available to the members of the committee
for their consideration as they are negotiating a new proposed rule.
Committee Membership
Including the members added in response to comments received on the
October 25 notice, the members of the committee will include:
[[Page 63009]]
National Industry Groups
Paul Reid, President, American Home Funding, Richmond, VA,
President-Elect, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, 1125 15th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-2766
Kay Kinney, Executive Vice President, National Association of
Mortgage Brokers, 1735 N. Lynn Street, Suite 950, Arlington, VA 22209
John Rasmus, Esq., Senior Federal Administrative Counsel/
Manager, Agency Relations, American Bankers Association, 1120
Connecticut Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20036
Glen Gimble, Esq., Program Manager and Counsel, Real Estate
Lending Compliance, America's Community Bankers, 900 19th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20006
Roy DeLoach, Policy Representative, Business Issues, National
Association of Realtors, 700 11th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20001-
4507
Sue Johnson, President and Executive Director, RESPRO, 1800 M
Street, NW., Suite 900 South, Washington, DC 20036
David Goldberg, The Mortgage Capitol Group, Senior Vice
President, Administration, PHH Mortgage Services Corporation, 6000
Atrium Way, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
Thomas J. Sheehan, Chairman, IBAA Bank Operations Committee,
Independent Bankers Association of America, One Thomas Circle, NW.,
Suite 950, Washington, DC 20005-5802
Brian McDonnell, Senior Executive Vice-President, of Navy
Federal Credit Union, National Association of Federal Credit Unions,
P.O. Box 3769, Washington, DC 20007
Robert E. McKew, Vice President and General Counsel, American
Financial Services Association, 919 18th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20006
Consumer Groups
Robert Creamer, Citizen Action, 68 East Wacker Place, Chicago,
IL 60601
William J. Brennan, Jr., Esq., (Member, Board of Directors,
National Association of Consumer Advocates), Home Defense Program of
the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, 340 West Ponce De Leon Avenue, Decatur,
Georgia 30030
Nina Simon, Esq., Jean Davis, Esq., Legal Counsel for the
Elderly, American Association of Retired Persons, 601 E Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20049
State Organizations
Craig Jordan, Esq., Assistant Attorney General for the State
of Texas, Consumer Affairs Division, 714 Jackson Street, Suite 800,
Dallas, Texas 75202
Daniel Muccia, President, American Association of Residential
Mortgage Regulators and Deputy Superintendent of Banks, State of New
York Banking Department, Two Rector Street, New York, New York 10006
Government-Sponsored Enterprises
Jim Newell, Esq., Associate General Counsel, Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation, 8200 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102-3107
JoAnn Carpenter, Esq., Vice President and Deputy General
Counsel, Federal National Mortgage Association, 3900 Wisconsin Ave.,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016-2899
Federal Government
Designated Federal Officer: Sarah X. Rosen, Esq., Special
Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Housing, Room 9100, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20410, (202) 708-3600
Schedule
HUD will hold the first meeting of the committee on December 13-14,
1995. On Wednesday, December 13, the meeting will start at 9:30 a.m.
and run until completion; on Thursday, December 14, the meeting will
start at 9:00 a.m. and run until approximately 1:00 p.m. If
participants and the facilitator agree, the second day of the meeting
may be extended beyond the projected completion time of 1:00 p.m. The
location of the meeting will be Courtroom A of the International Trade
Commission Building, 500 E Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20436. The
purpose of the meeting will be to orient members to the negotiated
rulemaking (reg-neg) process, establish a basic set of understandings
and ground rules (protocols) regarding the process that will be
followed in seeking a consensus, and begin to address the issues. This
meeting is open to the public.
Decisions with respect to future meetings will be made at the first
meeting and from time to time thereafter. Notices of future meetings
will be published in the Federal Register if time permits.
To prevent delays that might postpone timely issuance of a proposed
rule, HUD intends to terminate the committee's activities if it does
not reach consensus within 5 months of the first meeting. The process
may end earlier if the facilitator believes that sufficient progress
cannot be made or that an impasse has developed that cannot be
resolved.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437g, 3535(d).
Dated: December 5, 1995.
Stephanie A. Smith,
Acting General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Housing.
[FR Doc. 95-30067 Filed 12-6-95; 1:38 pm]
BILLING CODE 4210-27-P
