Sharing Closing Disclosure Allowed, not Required

On July 7, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized updates to the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID).

In the recent amendments, the CFPB acknowledged that the “[Closing Disclosure (CD)] may be informative to real estate agents and others representing both the consumer credit and real estate portions of residential real estate sales transactions, as they provide the consumer or the consumer’s agent with a record of the transaction.” See page 363-64.

Unfortunately, the CFPB did not believe the “expansion of the scope of such permissible sharing would . . . be germane to the purposes of Regulation Z.” Id. at 365. However, the CFPB noted that “sharing of the Closing Disclosure may be permissible currently to the extent that it is consistent with [Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)] and Regulation P and is not barred by applicable State law.” Id.

What does this mean for real estate agents?

Because the CFPB “understands that it is usual, accepted, and appropriate for creditors and settlement agents to provide the [CD] to consumers, sellers, and their real estate brokers or other agents,” the CFPB does not prohibit lenders or title companies from sharing the CD. See CFPB press release here.

However, the GLBA and potentially some state laws still require consumers’ information to be protected. Accordingly, even though lenders or title companies may share the CD with real estate agents, they are not required to and may therefore decline to do so.

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