ALTA Commends Congress in Passage of Amendment Clarifying Reach of CFPA

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
The American Land Title Association commends Congress on the passage of an
amendment that clarifies the oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection
Agency over the title insurance industry.

Introduced during a markup session of H.R. 3126 by U.S. Reps. Gwen Moore
(D-Wis.) and Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), the amendment was passed during a voice
vote by the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Oct. 21.

"Congress recognized that title insurance is best regulated by a comprehensive,
well-established state regulatory system," said Kurt Pfotenhauer, CEO of ALTA.
"We are grateful for the leadership of Rep. Gwen Moore and Rep. Erik Paulsen in
recognizing that title insurance is provided according to state and county laws
and customs governing the sale, purchase and transfer of real estate in 3,600
separate local jurisdictions."

Title insurance providers will continue to be subject to existing federal
consumer laws - primarily RESPA - which are designed to protect consumers in the
mortgage transaction. Authority to regulate title insurance under RESPA will be
transferred from HUD to the CFPA. Excluding title insurance from the CFPA
definition of "financial activities" means that the title industry will not be
subject to the new regulatory regimes intended for banks and other financial
institutions.

"Giving the CFPA authority over state regulated industries that were not the
cause of the problems in the mortgage and capital markets would have done
nothing to advance the bill`s purposes," Pfotenhauer said. "Without this
amendment, the CFPA would have created a whole new federal regulatory regime
that would have conflicted with existing state regulation. Fortunately, we have
been able to avoid that confusion."

About ALTA

The American Land Title Association, founded in 1907, is a national trade
association representing more than 3,000 title insurance companies, title
agents, independent abstracters, title searchers, and attorneys. With more than
8,000 offices throughout the United States, ALTA members conduct title searches,
examinations, closings, and issue title insurance that protects real property
owners and mortgage lenders against losses from defects in titles. ALTA member
companies employ well over 100,000 individuals and operate in every county in
the U.S., and several countries around the world.

ALTA
Jeremy Yohe
Office: 202-261-2938
Cell: 202-590-8361
E-mail: jyohe@alta.com

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