Overview

Holly Spencer Bunting is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and a member of the Consumer Financial Services group. She practices in the areas of residential mortgage banking and consumer finance and concentrates on issues of federal and state regulatory compliance and enforcement. Holly represents companies in the mortgage lending, title insurance and real estate industries on regulatory compliance matters and defends clients subject to government audits, investigations and enforcement proceedings. She also provides counsel on federal and state consumer credit and protection laws and regulations, including the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and reviews and analyzes existing and proposed business arrangements for compliance with federal and state requirements.

Holly focuses particular attention on assisting companies in complying with the anti-kickback requirements of RESPA, including counseling clients on the creation and operation of affiliated business arrangements, reviewing proposed and existing business relationships and drafting disclosures under Section 8 of RESPA. She also advises mortgage companies and settlement agents on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure regulations and predecessor disclosure requirements. In addition, Holly counsels mortgage companies related to approval, origination and servicing requirements under government lending programs, including the Federal Housing Administration single-family loan program, and conducts regulatory due diligence related to compliance with government loan origination and servicing regulations and guidelines. She also defends companies in government enforcement proceedings, including, among others, RESPA enforcement matters, FHA and VA audits and CFPB investigations.

Holly has published articles related to RESPA and FHA issues in industry publications and is a regular speaker at webinars and mortgage and title insurance industry events.

Areas of Focus

Practices
Industries
Key Issues

Experience

  • Counseled a loan origination system provider on compliance with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure regulations in the programming of Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms.
  • Regularly reviewed new and existing business arrangements for mortgage companies, title insurance companies and agencies, and real estate brokerage companies for compliance with Section 8 of RESPA, including drafting affiliated business disclosures, counseling clients on structuring and operating compliant affiliated business arrangements and other business arrangements and drafting and/or reviewing agreements for issues related to RESPA.
  • Assisted clients in connection with investigations under the False Claims Act related to origination and underwriting of Federal Housing Administration-insured loans.
  • Assisted clients in defending allegations made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau related to the operation of affiliated business arrangements, advertising for government-insured lending and other consumer protection issues.
  • Counseled multiple mortgage broker, mortgage banker, title insurance and settlement agent clients on developing and implementing practices and procedures to comply with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure requirements and assessing potential liability related to the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.
  • Performed regulatory due diligence of mortgage company policies and procedures related to Federal Housing Administration, Veterans’ Administration, and US Department of Agriculture lending programs, as well as compliance with federal and state consumer protection requirements.
  • Represented multiple mortgage company clients in responding to government audits, including, among others, FHA’s Mortgagee Review Board and Quality Assurance Division, HUD’s Office of Inspector General and state mortgage and title insurance regulators.
  • Advised multiple clients on compliance with approval, recertification, origination and underwriting, quality control and servicing requirements for government lending programs, including Federal Housing Administration-insured loans, Veterans’ Administration-guaranteed loans and Rural Housing Service-guaranteed loans.
  • Assisted clients in the tracking and implementation of state requirements related to the registration and regulation of appraisal management companies.
  • Assisted national trade associations in the drafting of manuals and other materials regarding compliance with Section 8 of RESPA.
  • Created comprehensive catalog of origination and servicing requirements applicable to FHA-insured loans for a national mortgage lender.

Perspectives

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Events

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News

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Education

American University Washington College of Law, JD, cum laude
Note & Comment Editor, American University Law Review

University of North Carolina at Asheville, BA, summa cum laude

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • North Carolina

Activities

  • North Carolina Bar Association