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
Fair Lending
CFPB Issues Additional Guidance on Use of AI in Credit Underwriting
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…
CFPB Analyzes the Financial Health of Rural Borrowers in the South
On June 21, 2023, the CFPB released two Data Spotlight reports focused on the Southern states, entitled “Banking and Credit Access in the Southern Region of the U.S.” and “Consumer Finances in Rural Areas of the Southern Region.” This blog focuses on the Consumer Finances Data Spotlight and is a follow-up…
CFPB, FDIC, NCUA, OCC, and FRB Issue Proposed Guidance on Reconsiderations of Value of Residential Real Estate Transactions
Consistent with concerns surrounding bias in property valuations, on June 8, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “board”), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued proposed guidance on…
CFPB Highlights Banking and Credit Hurdles for Minority and Rural Borrowers in the South
On June 21, 2023, the CFPB released two Data Spotlight reports focused on the Southern states, entitled “Banking and Credit Access in the Southern Region of the U.S.” and “Consumer Finances in Rural Areas of the Southern Region.” This blog focuses on the Banking and Credit Access Data Spotlight and an…
New DOJ Redlining Settlement Continues Enforcement Trend
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…
Navigating the CFPB’s Final Rule on Dodd-Frank Section 1071
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently issued its final rule to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The rule amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), introducing substantial data collection and reporting requirements for small business lenders and finance companies. In this blog post, we delve deeper…
Fannie Mae to Test Drive Ditching Title Insurance
In a surprising shift from its current position, Fannie Mae is expected to roll out a pilot program this spring that waives title insurance requirements for certain loans sold to Fannie Mae, according to a recent report from Politico. While the specifics of the plan have not been announced, this pilot program comes on…
CFPB Hosts Hearing on Appraisal Bias
In light of growing concerns, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Appraisal Subcommittee (ASC) held its first hearing on appraisal bias on January 24, 2023, at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters. The FFIEC, a federal interagency body comprised of the Board of Governs of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Federal Deposit Insurance…
FTC Settlement with Auto Dealer Group Demonstrates Treatment of Discriminatory Conduct as “Unfair”
The FTC issued a release on October 18, 2022, to announce that it has initiated an enforcement action in Maryland against a Washington, D.C.-area auto dealer group, Passport Automotive Group, as well as two of its executives, Everett Hellmuth and Jay Klein. In the same release, the FTC announced that Passport, Hellmuth, and Klein have…