In a Dec. 29 letter to the Mortgage Bankers Association, CFPB Director Richard Cordray gave mortgage lenders a reason to believe 2016 will be a happy new year.

The letter is a response to the MBA’s concerns over potentially large CFPB fines for minor errors in compliance with the new TRID regulations. It says lenders will not be punished for minor loan paperwork errors in the early days of TRID implementation.

“In particular, our examiners will be squarely focused on whether companies have made a good faith effort to come into compliance with the rule,” Cordray’s letter read. “All of our regulators have indicated that their examinations for compliance in the first few months of implementing the new rule will be corrective and diagnostic, rather than punitive.”

Cordray underscored the point in the three-page letter by repeating the CFPB’s stance that minor errors would not be punished in the early days as long as lenders could demonstrate good faith effort in complying with the new regulations.

“While complete and accurate use of the Regulation Z forms is the ultimate compliance goal, we recognize that a certain level of minor errors in the early days of implementation is to be expected,” Cordray wrote. “As noted above, we, other regulators and the GSEs have publicly stated that we are looking, in these early days, for good faith efforts to come into compliance.”

David Stevens, president and CEO of the MBA, expressed relief on behalf of the members of his organization, some of whom were concerned that secondary market demand for loans would soften if buyers were concerned about heavy-handed CFPB enforcement.

“We are extremely gratified that the CFPB has taken our concerns seriously and has issued this additional guidance,” Stevens said in a statement. “We believe it will lead to smoother transactions, both for consumers and for lenders looking to sell their loans into the secondary market.”

Cordray’s letter to the MBA can be found here.