ABA President Robinson Applauds Lawyer Exemption in HUD Mortgage Originator Rule
ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III is praising a lawyer exemption in a final rule governing mortgage loan originators.
The rule implements a 2008 law known as the SAFE Act that seeks to reduce fraud in mortgage lending. Under the final rule (PDF), lawyers won’t be covered by the law when they provide legal services to their clients and comply with state ethics rules.
The ABA “wholeheartedly supports” the SAFE Act goals of reduced mortgage fraud and increased consumer protections, Robinson says in a statement. But the original proposed rule implementing the law “contained overly broad language that would have imposed excessive new federal regulations on lawyers engaged in the practice of law,” Robinson says.
“Creating a new overlapping federal layer of regulation on practicing lawyers is unnecessary and the conflicting standards would ultimately hurt their consumer clients,” Robinson adds.
