On July 1, 2024, banks and other financial institutions doing business in Florida will be required to comply with new rules designed to ensure fair access to banking and prevent politically or ideologically motivated denial of services. While Florida-licensed and chartered banks have been subject to some of these rules since the enaction of the
Over the past two years, we’ve been covering the state legislatures and executive officials taking aim at environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and ramping up the pressure on companies that incorporate ESG factors into business decisions. Financial services companies have been watching carefully to see what’s next in the state pushback to ESG. And
Mortgage companies must maintain a heightened level of vigilance when it comes to preventing mortgage fraud. The incidence of fraud attempts targeting mortgage companies continues to rise, prompting decisive action against this threat. In a criminal complaint filed on April 23, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the
On April 22, 2024, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published its final rule regarding updated flood insurance requirements in certain areas of the country: Floodplain Management and Protection of Wetlands; Minimum Property Standards for Flood Hazard Exposure; Building to the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard. The new rule implements the
In an October 2023 advisory opinion, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) put large banks and credit unions on notice that the use of chatbots and other technologies could increase the risk of violating federal law if those services are ineffective. As we have previously written about, the CFPB’s advisory opinion interprets Section
On October 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a joint statement emphasizing the risk associated with considering an applicant’s immigration status when making credit decisions. Specifically, the CFPB and DOJ emphasized that creditors should carefully consider how they use immigration status when accepting and evaluating applications and should
On September 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued Circular 2023-03, which provides guidance as to how lenders must explain denials of applications of credit when the underwriting is based on artificial intelligence (AI) or complex credit models. The upshot of the guidance is that a lender that denies an application for credit
In a continuation of enforcement activity related to redlining under October 2021’s Combatting Redlining Initiative, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 31, 2023, that ESSA Bank & Trust has agreed to pay $3 million to settle allegations that it engaged in redlining, a discriminatory practice in which lenders fail to provide
FDIC-insured depository institutions seeking CRA credit opportunities may be eligible to apply for funding to further impact the distressed communities they serve. On March 31, 2023, the Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened its fiscal year 2023 funding applications for its Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program. This year’s program includes
The Supreme Court has asked the solicitor general to weigh in on an issue that could affect lenders and borrowers alike: whether the National Bank Act (NBA) trumps state laws that require lenders to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts. The request, which follows the Supreme Court’s previous denial of a request to review a