The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has updated its TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) compliance documents in order to reflect the new Oct. 3, 2015, implementation date.
Small updates were made to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule small entity compliance guide, the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures Guide to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms and the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures timeline example.
The bureau also issued its 2015 Plain Writing Act (PWA) Compliance Report. The bureau designated Gail Hillebrand, the associate director of the division of consumer education and engagement with the CFPB, as the Senior Agency Official responsible for the report.
Under the PWA, federal executive agencies are required to use plain language in documents that: are necessary for obtaining information about a federal government benefit or service or filing taxes; provide information about a federal government benefit or service; or explain to the public how to comply with a requirement that the federal government administers or enforces.
In the report, the bureau explains its efforts to comply with PWA and promote the use of plain writing in its communications. Similar to previous PWA reports, the CFPB states in the new report that it has adopted plain language “as a core principle” for all of the CFPB’s printed and online consumer-facing content, including its “Ask CFPB” online Q&A tool, its reverse mortgage advertising consumer advisory, blog posts and social media.
“For bureau documents that target a specific audience, or that are technical or specialized in nature, the bureau takes the complexity of the topic and the subject expertise of the audience into account,” the report said. “The bureau also considers whether these technical or specialized documents will impact consumers’ behavior or understanding of their rights under the federal consumer financial laws. When the bureau believes that such documents will impact consumers’ behavior or understanding, the bureau generally publishes plain language summaries of the documents and makes them widely available (typically on the bureau’s website).”
The CFPB also states that although PWA does not apply to regulations, it generally makes available plain language summaries of its proposed or final consumer protection regulations, such as its summary “Shopping for a mortgage? What you can expect under federal rules.”
The report also stated that the bureau uses an intranet system to better assist the staff at plain language writings, and the CFPB’s Office of Human Capital trains the staff both in-person and online.