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With the support of Congressman Bruce Poliquin, who has had frequent discussions with the Maine CU League regarding supporting this legislation, the House passed H.R. 1153 - the Mortgage Choice Act this week by a 280-131 vote. The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and your League applauded the bill's passage and Maine CU League President Todd Mason expressed his appreciation to Congressman Poliquin. "We are grateful that Congressman Poliquin understood and recognized the relief that this legislation provides to mortgage lenders, including credit unions. At the Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C., later this month, we will continue to address the importance of regulatory relief, through this type of legislation, with our entire Delegation."
The bill, which also passed the House in the last Congress, as well, would provide relief to mortgage lenders by excluding certain charges from the points and fees calculation. Qualified mortgages (QM) cannot have a points and fees value of more than 3% of the loan amount.
The bill would remove the following from the points and fees calculation:
- Title insurance purchased from a company affiliated with the lender (purchases from a non-affiliated title insurer currently do not count against points and fees); and
- Escrowed homeowners insurance premiums.
In a statement provided to your League, CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle explained, "The Mortgage Choice Act is a common-sense piece of legislation that would bring more consistency to the lending process, providing consumers with more access to mortgage credit and more choices in credit providers. This has seen bipartisan support in this and the previous Congress, and CUNA will continue our work to move it forward in the process."