This guide has been updated for the following changes – the May 2013 Final Rule and October 2013 Final Rule and the 2012, 2013 and 2014 lists of rural and underserved counties as appropriate.
The Bureau updated this guide on January 6, 2014 to reflect finalized changes to the
rule. The revisions amend the final rule issued January 10, 2013, which took effect on
June 1, 2013. Notable changes in the October 2013 Final Rule, which take effect
January 1, 2014, impacting guide content include:
Exemption for Small Creditors that Operate Predominantly in Rural or
Underserved Areas. The October 2013 Final Rule amends the exemption
from the requirement to maintain escrows on certain higher-priced mortgage
loans for certain small creditors that operate predominantly in rural or
underserved areas. To prevent small creditors from losing eligibility for the
exemption in 2014 due to changes in which counties are defined as rural, the
revisions extend availability to small creditors that operated predominantly in
rural or underserved areas in any of the previous three calendar years and
also meet the other exemption criteria. (See “What are the exemptions to the
TILA HPML Escrow Rule?” on page 14.)
This small entity compliance guide discusses the Escrow Requirements under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) Rule (January 2013 Final Rule) and subsequent amendments to the rule. This rule implements statutory changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act that lengthen the time creditors must collect and manage escrows for higher-priced mortgage loans. The rule is generally referred to in this guide as the TILA Higher Priced Mortgage Loans (HPML) Escrow Rule.