As we have previously discussed in articles highlighting the CFPB’s activities over this last year, the new administration has prioritized deregulation and increased efficiency and dramatically scaled back the agency’s supervision and enforcement work.  As we near the end of an ambitious first year of changes under the Trump Administration, the agency’s continued operation appears increasingly uncertain. 

DocMagic will soon update our default selection logic to return the 2015 TRID-version of the Settlement Service Provider Shopping List (Form ID: ADSYCSF.MSC) with TRID loans, rather than the prior GFE-aligned version of the list (Form ID: SSPL.GFE). 

Defalcation is the theft, misuse, or misappropriation of funds held by a fiduciary. Many forms of conduct qualify as defalcation, including both the misallocation of funds and the failure to account for funds received. In the mortgage lending industry, it is more specifically used to refer to the misuse or misdirection of funds held in escrow by a title insurance agent. Notably, defalcation does not require the same level of intent as fraud, and therefore encompasses conduct like poor accounting which may not be intentional.

On October 29, 2025,  a federal judge issued an injunction in Forcht v. CFPB, which will indefinitely delay enforcement of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB’s”) Personal Financial Data Rights Rule (“the Rule”). Commonly referred to as the “open banking” rule, the first enforcement deadline was slated for June 30, 2026, despite the Rule itself facing an unsure future.

Vermont’s “High-Rate / High-Point Law” (Title 9 V.S.A. § 104, Regulation B-98-2) determines the threshold for a “high-rate” mortgage loan based on the annual interest rate for underpayment or overpayment of taxes set by the Vermont Commissioner of Taxes each year.  This rate is known as the "Declared Rate."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) has proposed a rule modifying Regulation B, which implements the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) to update its provisions on disparate impact, applicant discouragement, and special purpose credit programs.  Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through December 15, 2025.  The

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) has announced a 3.26% increase in baseline conforming loan limits and high-cost area loan limits for 2026 to reflect the rise in average U.S. home prices. These maximum loan limits will apply to single-family conventional loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2026.  Loans above these limits are known as jumbo loans. 

Meet with Ron Carrillo, Business Development Manager at the SoCal CUREN December meeting on Tuesday December 9^th from 4-8pm at Kinecta Federal Credit Union Manhattan Beach/El Segundo. Contact ron@docmagic.com to schedule time to meet.

Corrected typo on page 2. (Date of Release to Production: 11/20/25)

Updated MERS street address. (Date of Release to Production: 11/20/25)