allow the consumer to defer repayment of principal, or results
in a balloon payment; and the proceeds of the loan are used
solely to satisfy the existing obligation and amounts attributed
solely to the costs of refinancing. (Submitted June, 2018.)
QAre labor unions subject to the new Beneficial Ownership Rule?
AYes. A labor union is subject to the control prong of the rule Under the Customer Due Diligence Requirements for
Financial Institutions (Beneficial Ownership rule) ( 31 C.F.R.
§1010.230(e)
( 3) The following legal entity customers are subject only to the
control prong of the beneficial ownership requirement:
(ii) Any legal entity that is established as a nonprofit
corporation or similar entity and has filed its organiza-
tional documents with the appropriate State authority as
necessary.
As a labor union is a Non-Governmental Organization, it
is subject to the control prong of the requirement. (Submitted
May, 2018.)
QThe bank’s mortgage loan customer has failed to pay his property taxes for two years, so in August 2018,
the state will auction the home for nonpayment of taxes.
The mortgage servicing rules prohibit servicers from taking
foreclosure action until the loan is past due 120 days
(principal and interest), but the mortgage note and deed of
trust notes stipulate that borrowers in default if they fail to
pay taxes. Is it permissible under the mortgage servicing
rules to foreclose on these grounds?
AA bank cannot foreclose, but it can accelerate the mort- gage. See the following from the ABA’s Reference Guide
for Mortgage Servicing pg. 133:
www.aba.com/Tools/Func-tion/Mortgage/MemDocs/ABAServicingReferenceGuide.pdf
Servicers commonly inquire whether they may foreclose on
a mortgage loan if a borrower violates a term of the loan
contract but is current on his or her mortgage loan payments
(e.g., the borrower is current on the mortgage loan but has
not paid property taxes and there is no escrow account).
Servicers may not make the first notice or filing for foreclosure unless a borrower’s mortgage loan obligation is
more than 120 days delinquent. Even though this term is
undefined, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has
generally interpreted “mortgage loan obligation” to include
principal, interest, and escrow. Under this view, the mortgage
loan obligation would not include unpaid, non-escrowed
taxes when the borrower is otherwise current on the loan.
However, the Servicing Rules do not prevent a creditor from
accelerating a mortgage loan payment for a breach of that
contract. Depending on the contract, a servicer could accelerate the mortgage loan if the borrower fails to pay the
monthly periodic payment amount on the payment due date
or if the borrower fails to comply with other components of
the contract, such as requirements to pay property taxes,
maintain insurance, or pay late fees. The borrower’s failure to
pay the amount due after the creditor accelerates the mortgage loan obligation would begin or continue delinquency.
After acceleration, the servicer must wait until the borrower
is more than 120 days delinquent before initiating foreclosure
proceedings. If the borrower reinstates the loan or otherwise
cures the arrearage following acceleration, the borrower
would no longer be delinquent.
If you do not have access to the ABA publication referenced
above, you can find some of the same information here: www.
consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-finan-cial-protection-bureau-rules-establish-strong-protections-for-homeowners-facing-foreclosure/ (Submitted May, 2018.) ■
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
LESLIE CALLAWAY,
CRCM, CAMS,
CAFP, Director of
Compliance
Outreach and
Have a question? Email compliance@aba.com or call (800) 551-2572.
Answers do not provide, nor are they substitutes for, professional
legal advice.