CFPB sues Experian for mishandling credit report errors
National Mortgage News
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Experian's responses to borrower complaints about accuracy violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In the lawsuit filed in California's Central District, the CFPB alleges that Experian responds to such complaints with half-hearted efforts in which it fails to question logical discrepancies in furnisher information and sometimes reinserts inaccurate information into reports after deletion. The move reflects bureau's longstanding concerns about the accuracy of information that plays a key role in loan access, pricing and performance as CFPB Director Rohit Chopra engages in a flurry of activity ahead of his anticipated departure from the agency.
Trends that once posed challenges for mortgage-backed securities are now transforming into market drivers according to a new report by an influential money management firm. The yield curve, interest rate volatility, the Federal Reserve's quantitative tightening, the 2023 banking crisis and reduced depository purchases of MBS all have been tough on the market but now have potential upsides, according to DoubleLine Capital. The report is notable because DoubleLine's CEO, Jeffrey Gundlach, is known for foreseeing key market moves like the 2007 housing crash. The report does not address policy speculation about things like key players' guarantees.
James Whitlinger, interim chief financial officer at Freddie Mac since Christian Lown's departure last summer, has been appointed to the job on a full-time basis. His title is executive vice president and CFO. "Jim is a proven leader with more than 30 years of financial management and accounting experience," said Freddie Mac CEO Diana Reid. Reid was appointed to the top job in September. Whitlinger joined the government sponsored enterprise in September 2014 as the single-family CFO. Before that, he was senior vice president at Univest Bank & Trust from October 2013.
The massive lenders have reached confidential settlements in principle in two separate poaching and theft of trade secrets lawsuits, according to court filings in recent days. The parties are now working on written agreements to end the cases, which included a combined 30 mortgage professionals as defendants and entangled CCM founder and CEO Ronald Leonhardt. Loandepot filed the complaints in 2022, accusing its competitor of raiding its branches and taking with employees thousands of confidential company documents.
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Credit Professional and "Voluntary Student"
2dDonna Smithhart, I'm pleased that two of the older, long time reporting agencies met the mark after your bank mishap. I recall when Experian started the business of credit reporting, I believed it was too much too fast and not enough education, training, certification of their employees. Over the years, I'm grateful for not having to deal with them professionally or personally. The government has finally put a spotlight on reporting and it's about time.
Mortgage Broker (NMLS#1922725)
3dIt’s about time!!
Business Systems Analyst / Project Manager / Business Analyst
3dThis is a positive move. I had written and contacted Experian numerous times starting in 2015 regarding their reporting errors. In July 2024 they started attempts at corrections caused by a profile merger (multiple people with their credit, husbands, addresses and public filings showing up in my credit report). I had 8 people in mine. They even allowed one of these people to put a pin on my credit and now Experian refuses to speak to me without that pin. The issue started with a bank. Transunion and Equifax corrected immediately. Experian: 9 years just to start. We're now going into year 10. CFPB should also look for complicit behavior when Bankruptcy is involved. Unscrupulous lenders can use profile mergers to dupe U.S. Bankruptcy Trustees into dismissals and lift of stay on innocent filers which allows the unscrupulous lender to foreclose, repossess and sell bad debt for higher pennies on the dollar. After I complained about the profile merger to my bank (at the time), they pulled my 1 impacted loan they had added to another party's bankruptcy (in the profile merger) and removed that loan. However, they included the addition of another loan of mine to her bankruptcy. Her Bankruptcy then dismissed. More than well aware.