In a letter to Warren by Stephen A. O'Connor, MBA's senior vice president for public policy and industry relations, the trade group states that a direct meeting, rather than a request for comment, would provide lenders a better understanding of the direction of the project so they could offer more informed comments and would offer stakeholders an opportunity to explain challenges under RESPA and TILA and the practical concerns posed by the current prototypes.

"The MBA has long been committed to greater transparency in the mortgage process and appreciates that the [CFPB] is treating this initiative as a high priority and moving expeditiously," O'Connor wrote. "Nevertheless, we do not believe the weeklong comment period provided, which included the July 4 holiday, was sufficient. This is especially so considering that comments are sought on the presentation of closing costs. This is a matter that the Department of Housing and Urban Development considered for several years through two successive rulemakings that engendered tens of thousands of comments."

I can't understand why especially in this time of fiscal austerity that we need another gov't agency(CFPB) to take another look at something HUD spent an exhaustive amount of time on just a couple years ago.

Simplifying mortgage disclosure forms so that borrowers get a clearer picture of the costs and obligations involved will be a primary goal of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Elizabeth Warren, the consumer advocate appointed to oversee its creation. 

Warren, a Harvard law professor appointed by President Obama, has been a vocal critic of what she calls “tricks and traps” in mortgage contracts and other credit agreements that bury the essential details of a loan or credit card agreement in mountains of text.

Obscured by fine print

"Fine print obscures the cost of credit and makes it impossible for families to compare products,” Warren said, opening a forum on simplifying mortgage forms. “Too often, families come to understand the legalese only when they get bitten by it. Streamlined disclosure can level the playing field and give families better tools to make better choices.”

Warren said this was particularly true with mortgages, where “borrowers receive stacks of incomprehensible paperwork when they're looking for a loan."

The forum, held Tuesday in Washington, D.C., was designed to seek imput on how mortgage disclosure forms might be simplified. Participants included consumer advocacy groups, housing counselors, financial literacy experts, mortgage companies, and other stakeholders. Future stakeholder meetings are planned to help refine the document design.

Combining two mortgage disclosures into one