CFPB Proposal Raises Fair Housing Concerns

Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.

– A new proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) involving the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) has created questions surrounding women’s and minority borrowers’ ability to get a mortgage. The proposal would remove the CFPB’s recognition of “disparate impact” claims, which are what have allowed borrowers to argue against discriminatory policies. The proposal also mentions changes to discouragement of applicants and special purpose credit programs (SPCPs). Industry leaders have said this proposal puts anti-discrimination in mortgage lending at risk, especially since the ECOA is what helped women to be able to get loans without a male co-signer.

– CrossCountry Mortgage is intervening in a fraud case against its former loan officer, according to National Mortgage News. The lender is challenging a court order that blocked its arbitration with a former employee, Christopher Gallo. Gallo, who joined CrossCountry in 2023, was indicted in April 2024 for falsifying loan documents since at least 2018. As a result, he was let go from CrossCountry and, per the terms of his employment, forfeited a $2.1 million bonus contingent on him remaining with the company for at least 36 months. Gallo has reportedly not complied with CrossCountry’s request that he return the bonus money, so the company has begun a process with the American Arbitration Association that it is not asking the court to allow to move forward.

– United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced on December 17 that it is acquiring the parent company of RoundPoint in a $1.3 billion all-stock transaction, expected to close early next year. The move comes amid an arms race in the mortgage industry, headlined by Rocket’s deals for residential portal Redfin and another major mortgage servicer, Mr. Cooper. According to a joint release from the two companies, the deal will essentially double UWM’s Mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio, with executives touting the companies’ “complementary” culture and strengths.

– A report from ProPublica has alleged that President Trump’s own mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud. The report said that records show for the purchase of Trump’s Florida home in 1993 he claimed it would be his primary residence, but then purchased another neighboring home weeks later claiming the same thing. ProPublica alleges it appears he has never maintained primary residence in either home, and instead they are investment properties that were rented out. This is the same alleged mortgage fraud he accused Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of committing.

– Cotality’s latest mortgage delinquency data found that the national delinquency rate remained at 3% in September 2025. This was a slight increase from 2.9% in Q2 of 2025, but Molly Boesel, senior principal economist at Cotality, said delinquencies remain “historically low.” “However, we’re seeing signs of stress beneath the surface and some indication that borrowers who fall behind are struggling to catch up, progressing into later stages of delinquency,” Boesel added. She said this was “particularly evident” at the metro level, where the share of areas with rising overall delinquencies declined from 70% in September 2024 to 48% in September 2025. “Yet, the share with increasing foreclosure rates jumped from 8 percent to 39 percent over the same period,” Boesel said. “These trends suggest growing challenges for borrowers once they become delinquent.”