Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

12842

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 42 / Friday, March 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules
providing that the Temporary GSE QM
loan definition expires on the date the applicable GSE exits Federal conservatorship. Therefore, under the Patch Extension Final Rule, the Temporary GSE QM loan definition will expire upon the earlier of the mandatory compliance date of the final amendments to the General QM loan definition or the date the applicable GSE exits Federal conservatorship.

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

2. The General QM Final Rule The Bureau issued the General QM
Final Rule on December 10, 2020. It was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2020.27 The General QM
Final Rule amended Regulation Z to remove the General QM loan definitions DTI limit and appendix Q
and replace it with a limit based on the loans pricing. Under the General QM
Final Rule, a loan meets the General QM
loan definition only if the annual percentage rate APR exceeds the average prime offer rate APOR for a comparable transaction by less than 2.25
percentage points as of the date the interest rate is set. The final rule provided higher thresholds for loans with smaller loan amounts, for certain manufactured housing loans, and for subordinate-lien transactions. The final rule also requires that the creditor consider the consumers DTI ratio or residual income, income or assets other than the value of the dwelling including any real property attached to the dwelling securing the loan, and debts and verify the consumers income or assets other than the value of the property securing the transaction and debts. The final rule also provides a safe harbor for compliance with the verification requirement if a creditor complies with verification standards in certain manuals listed in the rule.28
The General QM Final Rule had an effective date of March 1, 2021 but provided a mandatory compliance date of July 1, 2021. Therefore, for covered transactions for which creditors receive an application on or after March 1, 2021
and before July 1, 2021, creditors have the option of complying with either the revised General QM loan definition or the General QM loan definition in effect prior to March 1, 2021. Under the Patch Extension Final Rule, described above, the Temporary GSE QM loan definition will expire on the mandatory compliance date of the General QM
amendments. Therefore, for covered transactions for which creditors receive an application before July 1, 2021, 27 85

FR 86308 Dec. 29, 2020.
comment 43e2vB3.i.

28 See
VerDate Sep<11>2014

19:49 Mar 04, 2021

Jkt 253001

creditors may also originate Temporary GSE QM loans.

reconsider other aspects of the General QM Final Rule.

3. The Seasoned QM Final Rule The Bureau issued the Seasoned QM
Final Rule on December 10, 2020. It was published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2020.29 The Seasoned QM
Final Rule created a new category of QMs for first-lien, fixed-rate covered transactions that have met certain performance requirements over a seasoning period of at least 36 months, are held in portfolio by the originating creditor or first purchaser until the end of the seasoning period, comply with general restrictions on product features and points and fees, and meet certain underwriting requirements.30 The Seasoned QM Final Rule took effect on March 1, 2021. Under the Seasoned QM
Final Rule, the revised regulations apply to covered transactions for which creditors receive an application on or after this effective date. Thus, due to the seasoning period, no loan will be eligible to become a Seasoned QM until at least 36 months after March 1, 2021.

D. The Effects of the COVID19
Pandemic on the Mortgage Markets The General QM Final Rule acknowledged that the COVID19
pandemic has had a significant effect on the U.S. economy. In the early months of the pandemic, economic activity contracted, millions of workers became unemployed, and mortgage markets were affected. Although the unemployment rate has declined from a high of 14.8 percent in April 2020 to 6.3
percent in January 2021,33
unemployment remains elevated relative to the pre-pandemic rate of 3.5
percent in February 2020, and the labor force participation rate remains below pre-pandemic levels, at 61.4 percent in January 2021 versus 63.3 percent in February 2020. The housing market has seen a significant rebound in mortgageorigination activity, buoyed by historically low interest rates and by an increasingly large share of government and GSE-backed loans. However, the share of origination activity outside the government and GSE-backed origination channels has declined from prepandemic levels, and mortgage-credit availability for many consumers including those who would be dependent on the non-QM market for financingremains tight. The pandemics impact on both the secondary market for new originations and on the servicing of existing mortgages is described below.

4. February 2021 Statement Regarding General QM and Seasoned QM Final Rules On February 23, 2021, the Bureau issued a Statement on Mandatory Compliance Date of General QM Final Rule and Possible Reconsideration of General QM Final Rule and Seasoned QM Final Rule Statement.31 The Statement was published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2021.32 The Statement indicated that the Bureau is considering whether to initiate a rulemaking to revisit the Seasoned QM
Final Rule. It also noted that if the Bureau decides to do so, it expects that it will consider in that rulemaking whether any potential final rule revoking or amending the Seasoned QM
Final Rule should affect covered transactions for which an application was received during the period from March 1, 2021, until the effective date of such a final rule. The Statement also indicated that the Bureau expected to issue shortly a proposed rule that would delay the July 1, 2021 mandatory compliance date of the General QM
Final Rule and that the Bureau will consider at a later date whether to initiate another rulemaking to 29 85

FR 86402 Dec. 29, 2020.

30 Id.
31 Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Statement on Mandatory Compliance Date of General QM Final Rule and Possible Reconsideration of General QM
Final Rule and Seasoned QM Final Rule Feb. 23, 2021, https www.consumerfinance.gov/
documents/9505/cfpb_qm-statement_2021-02.pdf.
32 86 FR 11623 Feb. 26, 2021.

PO 00000

Frm 00006

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

1. Secondary Market Impacts and Implications for Mortgage Origination Markets The early economic disruptions associated with the COVID19
pandemic restricted the flow of credit in the U.S. economy, particularly as uncertainty rose in mid-March 2020, and investors moved rapidly towards cash and government securities.34 The lack of investor demand to purchase mortgages, combined with a large supply of agency mortgage-backed 33 News Release, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Dept of Labor, USDL210158, The Employment Situation Feb. 5, 2021, https www.bls.gov/charts/
employment-situation/civilian-unemploymentrate.htm, and https www.bls.gov/charts/
employment-situation/civilian-labor-forceparticipation-rate.htm charts related to the Feb. 5, 2021 The Employment Situation news release.
34 The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, CARES Act: Hearing on The Quarterly CARES Act Report to Congress Before the S. Comm.
on Banking, Hous., & Urban Affairs, 116th Cong. 2
3 2020 statement of Jerome H. Powell, Chairman, Bd. of Governors of the Fed. Reserve Sys., https
www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
Powell%20Testimony%205-19-20.pdf CARES Act Hearing.

E:FRFM05MRP1.SGM

05MRP1