Exterior of the CFPB headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Credit/Adobe Stock
In May, the CFPB issued a request for information (RFI) from lenders and the public to understand the fee structure of mortgage transactions and closing costs. In a letter to the Bureau on Friday, officials with America's Credit Unions said the vast majority of the fees tacked on to these transactions are not controlled by credit unions and instead are decided by third-party vendors. For credit unions, the only fee they control are "origination fees" and even those are set at the lowest possible level, because these fees are not a source of profit.
In a seven-page letter to the CFPB, America's Credit Unions Regulatory Advocacy Senior Counsel Amanda Smith said, "Credit unions have no influence on these third-party fees and do not have the resources or leverage to negotiate them. We are concerned that shifting the burden of negotiating these fees to mortgage lenders will eliminate the clear disclosures that currently exist, and the fees will be packaged as part of a larger processing fee."
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
