Melissa Richards, CMB is a California licensed attorney with a national practice specializing in federal and multistate compliance, licensing and enterprise risk management for the financial services industry. Her clients are engaged in residential and commercial mortgage, fintech, licensed non-depository and depository institution consumer and commercial lending,  either directly or in supporting vendor roles. Ms. Richards has both outside counsel experience as well as general counsel experience. From 2012-2018, Ms. Richards served as the Chief Legal & Risk Officer of a mid-size independent mortgage company ranked as one of Scotsman Guide’s Top 15 Mortgage Lenders in 2018-2019.

Ms. Richards has served in leadership for the California Mortgage Bankers Association, both as a three-term Director (1999-2008) and as its General Counsel (2002-2008). For the Mortgage Bankers Association, Ms. Richards received her CMB designation in 2009 and served as Co-Chair of the 2017 MBA RESBOG Task Force on CFPB Regulatory Clarity and Enforcement (CFPB 2.0). Ms. Richards is a frequent national speaker on federal and state compliance current events affecting the financial services industry, including implementation and enforcement of California’s Consumer Privacy Act and implementing state AG regulations.

Bar Admissions

• California

Education

• University of San Francisco
• University of California, Davis

Significant Accomplishments

• Represented North American land developer and homebuilder, Brookfield Residential Properties, Inc, as regulatory counsel in its joint venture with loanDepot, one of the nation’s largest retail mortgage lenders. This new joint venture is designed to streamline the mortgage experience and plans to serve new home construction communities located in California, Colorado, Delaware, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

• NMLS Transition Update for Existing California Financing Law Licensees: CA DFPI Has Opened the NMLS Portal to Receive Transition Applications

  By Melissa Richards |July 2021

• CA DFPI Issues New Round of Proposed Rules for Transitioning Existing CA Financing Law Licensees to the NMLS Platform

  By Melissa Richards |July 2021

• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: DFPI Reminds Debt Collectors about Rental Protections for COVID-19 Rental Debt

  By Melissa Richards |April 2021

Additional Articles

• Georgia Enacts Commercial Financing Disclosure Law, Mandatory Compliance Date January 1, 2024
• Florida Enacts Commercial Financing Disclosure Law, Mandatory Compliance Date January 1, 2024
• CFPB and Federal Banking Agencies Propose Quality Control Standards on Automated Valuation Models Used in Underwriting Mortgage Loans
• NY DFS Publishes Final Regulation Implementing Article 8, New York State’s Commercial Finance Disclosure Law
• California DFPI Publishes Final Commercial Loan Disclosure Regulations
• OCC and FDIC “Valid When Made” Rule Reaffirmed: Interest Rate Limitations, or Lack Thereof, on Loans Made By National and State Banks and Federal Savings Associations Remain When the Loan Is Sold or Assigned
• NMLS Transition Update for Existing California Financing Law Licensees: CA DFPI has Extended the Deadline for Submitting Company (MU1) and Covered Person (MU2) Transition Applications to March 15, 2022
• NMLS Transition Update for Existing California Financing Law Licensees: CA DFPI Has Opened the NMLS Portal to Receive Transition Applications
• CA DFPI Issues New Round of Proposed Rules for Transitioning Existing CA Financing Law Licensees to the NMLS Platform
• CFPB Extends Compliance Deadline for New Qualified Mortgage Definition to October 1, 2022
• Buchalter COVID-19 Client Alert: DFPI Reminds Debt Collectors about Rental Protections for COVID-19 Rental Debt
• California DFPI Publishes Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Debt Collector Licensing
• Revising the New General QM Final Rule and Seasoned QM Final Rule: CFPB Expected to Postpone the Mandatory Compliance Date for the New General QM Final Rule and New Seasoned QM Final Rule and Temporarily Keep the GSE QM Loan Definition in Place, and Will Consider Revising the Seasoned QM Rule and Other Portions of the New QM Final Rule
• CFPB Acting Director Considering Delay in New Qualified Mortgage Rule
• Artificial Intelligence and Fair Credit Decisioning: Federal Regulators Lean In
• Coming in 2021: CFPB Finalizes Changes to “Qualified Mortgage” Definition and Creates a New “Seasoned QM” Loan Category
• California Enacts Consumer Debt Collector Licensing Administered by DFPI
• CA DFPI One Step Closer to Finalizing CFL Commercial Loan Disclosure Regulations
• CA DFPI Issues Third Round Proposed Rules for CFL License Transition to NMLS Platform
• Newly Enacted California Consumer Financial Protection Law (AB 1864) Reorganizes and Renames Financial Institutions Regulator for Expanded Oversight of Certain Consumer Financial Services Innovation Sector
• Artificial Intelligence and Fair Credit Decisioning: Federal Regulators Lean In
• The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) What it means for the Financial Services Industry
• California Regulator Focuses on Small Balance Consumer Lenders (and Indirectly on Online Lead Generators)
• Summary of California Laws Enacted in 2018 Impacting the State’s Financial Services Industry: What to Look Forward to (and Prepare for) in California in 2019
• Happy New Year! California Legislation Addresses Financial Services Industry in 2019 and Beyond