Holly Spencer Bunting

Holly assists 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. Mortgage companies and settlement agents seek out Holly’s advice on the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure regulations, and Holly counsels mortgage companies related to approval, origination and servicing requirements under government lending programs, including the Federal Housing Administration single-family loan program.

She conducts regulatory due diligence related to compliance with government loan origination and servicing regulations and guidelines, strategic referral arrangements and alliances under RESPA, development of alternative mortgage products and associated regulatory risks, compliance management programs, and compliance with federal consumer protection laws and state licensing requirements. Companies enlist Holly for defense in government enforcement proceedings, including, among others, RESPA enforcement matters, FHA and VA audits and CFPB investigations.

• Fintechs, financial institutions, issuers, and investors in connection with federal and state regulatory considerations related to the development and offering of, and investment in, home equity option products, including drafting of consumer disclosures and program agreements, preparing risk disclosures for offering documents, assessing state and federal consumer financial regulatory risks, and advising on unique and innovative product structures and features.
• A loan origination system provider on compliance with the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure regulations in the programming of Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms.
• Clients in connection with investigations under the False Claims Act related to origination and underwriting of Federal Housing Administration-insured loans.
• 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.

Holly has also:

• Drafted and reviewed affiliated business, advertising services, rental, co-advertising, data sharing and other services agreements for regulatory compliance under RESPA.
• Performed regulatory diligence for fintech and iBuyer companies related to acquisition of mortgage, title insurance, escrow, real estate, and general contractor businesses, as well as the structuring of cash-offer products.
• Provided regulatory compliance support to single-family rental companies and companies offering co-equity products related to federal consumer protection laws, state licensing, formation of affiliated mortgage and title insurance businesses, and review of intercompany service agreements.
• Prepared compliance management programs for lenders, fintechs and proptech companies, including policies on compliance department structure and lines of review, tracking federal laws, updating policies and procedures, employee compliance training, vendor management, and internal audit functions.
• Created a comprehensive catalog of origination and servicing requirements applicable to FHA-insured loans for a national mortgage lender.
• Performed regulatory due diligence of mortgage company policies and procedures related to Federal Housing Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and US Department of Agriculture lending programs, as well as compliance with federal and state consumer protection requirements.
• Led training sessions on compliance issues selected by clients for Boards of Directors, Legal and Compliance teams, and business units responsible for activities with material compliance risk.