Mortgage Forms to Get Easier for Consumers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advanced its overhaul of annoying, incomprehensible mortgage forms on Wednesday in its first regulatory maneuver since the agency was created by last year's financial reform bill.

The CFPB rolled out two prototypes for a single, streamlined form to replace two complex and overlapping forms used by consumers to help gauge the real costs of their mortgage. The new regulator, which hopes to have a final form ready by September, is asking consumers to provide feedback on the forms online and is conducting in-person tests and interviews about the forms in six cities.