retary may review the fees, administrative costs, and other 
expenses passed on to borrowers by any mortgagee en-
gaged in loss mitigation and shall exclude or reduce any 
costs or expenses the Secretary considers excessive or ir-
relevant to loss mitigation activities. 
‘‘(f) NOTIFICATION OF INTEREST RATE INCREASE.— 
In the case of any covered federally related mortgage loan 
that is an adjustable rate mortgage, not less than 60 days 
before any increase in the periodic payment due for prin-
cipal or interest or in the interest rate charged under the 
loan, but not more than 120 days before such increase, 
the mortgagee or servicer shall, in addition to any notices 
required by the contract and other law, inform the bor-
rower in writing by mail and by telephone of the date that 
such payment or interest rate increase will occur and of 
the amount of the projected monthly payment under the 
loan after such increase, based on the prevailing interest 
rate of the index used for such increase with the 30-day 
period ending upon such notice. The written notice shall 
provide the information required under this subsection in 
a clear and conspicuous format. 
‘‘(g) SUBORDINATE LIENS.—Each mortgagee with 
respect to a subordinate lien shall provide to mortgagees 
having senior liens information needed by such senior 
mortgagees to engage in reasonable loss mitigation as re-
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quired by this section. Any modification of the loan under-
taken as part of loss mitigation activity shall not impair 
the priority status of liens under the modified loan, to the 
extent that there are no additional funds advanced to the 
borrower in connection with such modification. 
‘‘(h) DIRECT ACCESS TO AUTHORIZED LOSS MITIGA-
TION PERSONNEL.— 
‘‘(1) PROVISION OF CONTACT INFORMATION.— 
The mortgagee or servicer of a covered federally re-
lated mortgage loan shall provide, on each regular 
account statement for the loan, a toll-free or collect- 
call telephone number that provides the borrower 
with direct access to a person with the information 
and authority to answer questions and fully resolve 
issues related to loss mitigation activities for the 
loan. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON OUTSOURCING.—In car-
rying out subsection (a) with respect to a covered 
federally related mortgage loan, any contact by or on 
behalf of a mortgagee or servicer with the home-
owner and any processing of any loss mitigation ac-
tivities shall be conducted only by agents of the 
mortgagee or servicer who are physically located in 
the United States. 
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‘‘(i) DUTY TO REFER TO HUD-CERTIFIED HOUSING 
COUNSELOR.— 
‘‘(1) REFERRAL
BY
SERVICER
OR
MORT-
GAGEE.—In the case of any payment due under a 
covered federally related mortgage loan that is more 
than 60 days late, the servicer or mortgagee shall 
forward to a housing counseling agency approved by 
the Secretary the contact information of the bor-
rower. 
‘‘(2) 
EXPRESSION
OF
BORROWER
PREF-
ERENCE.—The borrower may communicate to the 
servicer or mortgagee a preference for a particular 
housing counseling agency approved by the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(A) in writing at the time of closing on 
the loan; or 
‘‘(B) in writing at any time during the 
term of the loan, including by conveyance of 
signed authorization form from the approved 
housing counseling agency of the borrower’s 
choice, which shall be transmitted by such agen-
cy to the mortgagee or servicer. 
‘‘(3) REFERRAL RELATIONSHIP.—A mortgagee 
or servicer may establish a referral relationship with 
a housing counseling agency approved by the Sec-
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retary, but such relationship may not be exclusive 
and the mortgagee or servicer may not refuse to re-
spond to qualified written requests and other com-
munications from another housing counseling agency 
approved by the Secretary or any other agent that 
is authorized by the borrower. 
‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—A mort-
gagee for a covered federally related mortgage loan may 
not— 
‘‘(1) when engaging in loss mitigation activities 
pursuant to subsection (a), require a borrower to 
limit or waive the rights of such borrower to bring 
any claims, defenses, demands, proceedings, actions, 
or causes of action against the mortgagee or servicer 
as a condition of accepting an offer of any loss miti-
gation activities, including any activities under sub-
section (c); or 
‘‘(2) require the borrower to agree to arbitra-
tion as a condition of receiving loan modification ac-
tivities. 
Any waiver or arbitration provision in a written agreement 
prohibited under this subsection shall be void and unen-
forceable. 
‘‘(k) REPORTING
ON LOSS MITIGATION ACTIVI-
TIES.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each mortgagee or servicer 
of a covered federally related mortgage loan shall re-
port regularly, but not less than monthly, and com-
prehensively to the Secretary of the Treasury on the 
extent and scope of the loss mitigation activities of 
the mortgagee. Each such report shall include data 
on loss mitigation activities disaggregated according 
to the categories specified in each of the subpara-
graphs of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c), 
any loss mitigation activities not covered by such 
categories, the number of loans receiving loss mitiga-
tion that have become performing loans, the number 
of loans receiving loss mitigation that have pro-
ceeded to foreclosure, the total number of fore-
closures initiated during the reporting period, and 
such other information as the Secretary determines 
to be relevant. 
‘‘(2) COMPILATION OF AGGREGATE DATA.— 
‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT; SCOPE.—Beginning 
with data for calendar year 2009, the Federal 
Financial Institutions Examination Council 
shall compile for each year, for each primary 
metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan sta-
tistical area, and consolidated metropolitan sta-
tistical area that is not comprised of designated 
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primary metropolitan statistical areas, aggre-
gate data by census tract for all mortgagees or 
servicers that are required to disclose data 
under this subsection. The Council shall also 
produce tables indicating, for each primary 
metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan sta-
tistical area, and consolidated metropolitan sta-
tistical area that is not comprised of designated 
primary metropolitan statistical areas, aggre-
gate loss mitigation patterns for various cat-
egories of census tracts grouped according to 
location, age of housing stock, income level, and 
racial characteristics. 
‘‘(B) STAFF AND DATA PROCESSING RE-
SOURCES.—The Board of Governors of the Fed-
eral Reserve System shall provide staff and 
data processing resources to the Council to en-
able it to carry out this paragraph. 
‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—The data 
and tables required pursuant to this paragraph 
shall be made available to the public not later 
than December 31 of the year following the cal-
endar year on which the data is based. 
‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
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‘‘(1) ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE.—The term 
‘adjustable rate mortgage’ means, with respect to a 
federally related mortgage loan, that the loan terms 
provide for the rate of interest charged under the 
loan to reset or adjust at least once during the term 
of the loan. 
‘‘(2) COVERED
FEDERALLY
RELATED
MORT-
GAGE
LOAN.—The term ‘covered federally related 
mortgage loan’ means a federally related mortgage 
loan described in subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) 
MORTGAGEE.—The 
term 
‘mortgagee’ 
means, with respect to a federally related mortgage 
loan, the original lender under the loan and any af-
filiates, agents, subsidiaries, successors, or assignees 
of such lender, and any subsequent purchaser, trust-
ee, or transferee of the loan or credit instrument 
issued by such lender. 
‘‘(4) SERVICER.—The term ‘servicer’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 6(i). 
‘‘(m) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than the ex-
piration of the 12-month period beginning upon the date 
of the enactment of the Foreclosure Prevention and Sound 
Mortgage Servicing Act of 2008, and of each consecutive 
12-month period thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury 
and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
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shall provide a report to the Congress on the extent of 
compliance by mortgagees and servicers with the require-
ments of this section and paragraphs (4) through (7) of 
section 6(e). 
‘‘(n) APPLICABILITY.—Notwithstanding any regula-
tions authorized to carry out under this section, this sec-
tion shall apply with respect to defaults on covered feder-
ally related mortgage loans occurring after the date of the 
enactment of the Foreclosure Prevention and Sound Mort-
gage Servicing Act of 2008, without regard to the date 
on which the loan was made.’’. 
(b) DUTY OF LOAN SERVICER TO RESPOND TO BOR-
ROWER INQUIRIES.—Section 6(e)(1)A) of the Real Estate 
Settlement 
Procedures 
Act 
of 
1974 
(12 
U.S.C. 
2605(e)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘borrower)’’ and 
inserting ‘‘(borrower, including a housing counseling agen-
cy approved by the Secretary)’’. 
(c) COMPREHENSIVE DISCLOSURE AND FAIR PROC-
ESSING
OF QUALIFIED WRITTEN REQUESTS.—Section 
6(e) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 
(12 U.S.C. 2605(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) PROVISION OF INFORMATION REGARDING 
MORTGAGE.—The servicer of a covered federally re-
lated mortgage loan (as such term is defined in sec-
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tion 6A(l)) shall have available at all times the fol-
lowing information, which shall be provided to the 
borrower or borrower’s agent in response to a quali-
fied written request by the borrower submitted in ac-
cordance with the deadlines set forth in paragraph 
(1)(A): 
‘‘(A) Whether the account relating to such 
loan is current, or if not, the date the account 
went into default. 
‘‘(B) The current balance due on the loan, 
including the amount of principal due, an 
itemization of all fees due, an explanation of the 
escrow balance, and whether there are any es-
crow deficiencies or shortages. 
‘‘(C) A full payment history that shows, in 
a clear and easily understandable manner, all of 
the activity on the loan since the origination of 
the loan, including the escrow account, and the 
application of payments made under the loan. 
‘‘(D) The initial terms of the loan. 
‘‘(E) A copy of the original note and secu-
rity instrument. 
‘‘(F) Identification of the owner of the 
mortgage note and any investors in the note. 
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‘‘(G) Any documents that limit, explain, or 
modify the loss mitigation activities offered by 
the servicer. 
‘‘(H) Any other information requested by 
the borrower that is reasonably related to loss 
mitigation activities. 
‘‘(5) PROHIBITION OF ‘WRONG DOOR’ ACTIONS 
FOR QUALIFIED WRITTEN REQUESTS.—All written 
communications from the mortgagee or servicer of a 
federally related mortgage loan to the borrower shall 
include the address for receipt and handling of 
qualified written requests. Any qualified written re-
quest received by the mortgagee or servicer shall be 
valid notwithstanding receipt at any address other 
than that designated by the mortgagee or servicer 
for receipt and handling of such requests. 
‘‘(6) PROHIBITION OF FEE FOR RESPONSE TO 
QUALIFIED WRITTEN REQUESTS.—A mortgagee or 
servicer for a federally related mortgage loan may 
not impose any fee for, or on account of, the prepa-
ration and submission by such mortgagee or servicer 
of any response or statement required by this sub-
section. 
‘‘(7) PROHIBITION OF FORECLOSURE PENDING 
DISCLOSURE.—In the case of a covered federally re-
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