Credit unions received an early holiday gift from the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau Friday, when the regulator announced itwill extend the effective date for new mortgage disclosureregulations.

Although the CFPB did not specify a new effective date by whichmortgage lenders must comply, it did say lenders will not berequired to provide the disclosures until all proposed mortgagedisclosure rules are finalized, which is expected sometime nextyear.

The Dodd-Frank Act required that the CFPB integrate certaindisclosures from the Truth in Lending Act and the Real EstateSettlement Procedures Act.

Dodd-Frank also required additional new mortgage disclosure requirements, including disclosures on cancelationof escrow accounts, on a consumers' liability for debt paymentafter foreclosure, and the creditor's policy for accepting partialpayment, which would have automatically taken effect Jan. 21, 2013unless other action was taken.

“Considering these disclosures on the same timeline will ensurethat consumers receive clear, concise, and consistent information,”said CFPB Director Richard Cordray in a release. “By seekingpublic comment and conducting consumer-testing for thesedisclosures together, we can avoid the duplication and inefficiencythat existed in the past.”

Both CUNA and NAFCU had repeatedly asked the CFPB to delay andalign the effective dates for the disclosures, both in meetingswith the bureau and in comment letters. Both trades expressed theirsupport for the announcement.

Carrie R. Hunt, NAFCU general counsel and vice president ofregulatory affairs, said her organization “will continue to pushthe bureau to provide regulatory relief from regulatory changesdesigned to rein in the practices of bad actors.”

Hunt said, “The volume of change credit unions will face thisyear and next on the mortgage front is almost too large to quantifyand we would ask the CFPB anew to take a hard look at not justimplementation dates, but areas where regulation can beeliminated.”

CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney said “This extra time will giveCUNA, Leagues and credit unions more opportunities to urge theagency to minimize the impact of these proposed rules on creditunions.”