With CFPB retreating, some states ramp up oversight

With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau scaling back enforcement under the Trump administration, states are emerging as the new frontline in mortgage oversight but the shift is more incremental than dramatic, experts say.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remains in stasis, some mortgage professionals fear a new era of fragmented compliance — “50 state regulators instead of one CFPB” — but the reality is more mixed. State activity is picking up in some areas — new legislation, lawsuits and states hiring officials who departed from the CFPB — but many regulators insist they’re simply continuing business as usual.

“Nothing’s changing from the standpoint that state financial supervisors constantly monitor the institutions they license,” said Tony Vasile, CSBS senior…