On July 23, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) updated its Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) Baseline Review Procedures. Notably, the updates were issued just two days after the final amendments to Regulation B, the regulation implementing ECOA, became effective. While the overall examination structure largely remains unchanged, the updates signal a shift
On April 22, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule amending Regulation B – the implementing regulation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). Building on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued on November 13, 2025, the final rule addresses three principal areas: (1) It clarifies that ECOA does not
On January 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a proposed rule to “remove its discriminatory effects regulations and [leave] to courts questions related to interpretations of disparate impact liability under the Fair Housing Act.” The proposed rule follows President Trump’s executive orders, along with intervening Supreme Court decisions signaling
On November 13, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) amending Regulation B – the regulation implementing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The proposed rule addresses three principal areas: (1) it clarifies that ECOA does not authorize disparate-impact liability; (2) it further defines “discouragement” under 12 CFR
On March 19, 2025, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2025-08 titled “Rescinding Multiple Appraisal Policy Related Mortgagee Letters.” As the title suggests, FHA rescinded three mortgagee letters relating to Appraisal Fair Housing Compliance and Appraisal Review and Reconsideration. While this is a major change in how appraisals will be handled under
Amid recent technological advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, on January 17, 2025, the CFPB issued its Winter 2025 Supervisory Highlights: Advanced Technologies Special Edition. This edition of Supervisory Highlights delivers critical industry reminders regarding the balance between regulatory requirements and technological innovation. As an appropriate summation of the CFPB’s overarching worldview, the
On August 6, 2024, in Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-16, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced an extension for the implementation of recent Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value (ROV) guidelines through and to October 31, 2024. The guidelines, further detailed in our blog post “FHA Announces New Guidelines Allowing Borrowers to Challenge Appraisals
On July 11, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued its highly anticipated decision in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Townstone Financial, Inc., et al. In this pivotal decision, the Seventh Circuit reversed a prior ruling from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and held
On May 1, 2024, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) issued Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2024-07 titled “Appraisal Review and Reconsideration of Value Updates,” which enhances the agency’s current policy on home valuations. ML 2024-07 underscores FHA’s ongoing commitment to addressing appraisal bias, which directly aligns with the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity’s
Whether a solar system is a “fixture” sounds like a mundane legal issue – but it has significant implications for the residential solar industry and for the financing of residential solar systems. If a system is regarded as a “fixture” of the house to which it is attached, then the enforceability and priority of the