This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a memo to staff outlining its new supervision and enforcement priorities for 2025....more
4/18/2025
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supervisory Guidance ,
Trump Administration
In a surprising turn of events, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) have jointly moved to vacate the Stipulated Final Judgment and Order previously entered in...more
3/28/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Redlining ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its latest Supervisory Highlights report, focusing on the use of advanced technologies in credit scoring models. ...more
1/22/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Scores ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
In a significant development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has finally reached a settlement with Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) in the first redlining case brought against a nonbank...more
11/6/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On October 29, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the state’s Division on Civil Rights (DCR) released a report detailing the findings of a multi-year investigation into Republic First Bank (Republic) and its...more
11/1/2024
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Redlining
On October 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they reached a settlement with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation (Fairway). This settlement...more
10/18/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On October 10, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a landmark redlining settlement with Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel), marking the first such agreement with a credit union in the DOJ’s history. This...more
10/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Statutory Violations
As discussed here, on February 3, 2023, an Illinois federal court dismissed a case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) in 2020 against Townstone Financial, Inc., a Chicago mortgage lender, for...more
7/15/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation B ,
Statutory Violations
For the last two years, the federal regulatory agencies have been waging a war on redlining by mortgage lenders — a war that shows no signs of abating.
Originally published in Law360 - December 12, 2023....more
3/12/2024
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining
Last week, the annual Community Reinvestment Act & Fair Lending Colloquium took place in Austin, Texas. Two officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) discussed in detail the “Combatting Redlining Initiative” led by...more
11/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining
On October 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced a settlement with Wisconsin auto dealer group Rhinelander Auto Center, Inc. (Rhinelander), its current and former owners, and...more
10/27/2023
/ Add-ons ,
Auto Lease ,
Car Dealerships ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Native American Issues ,
Race Discrimination ,
Settlement ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On October 24, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the agencies) finally issued their long-awaited final...more
10/26/2023
/ Community Reinvestment Act ,
CRA ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FRB ,
Lenders ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
OCC
In the last three weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached two more settlements with lenders under its Combatting Redlining Initiative, which began in October 2021. On September 27, the DOJ announced that...more
10/23/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement on the subject of creditors’ use of immigration status for eligibility...more
10/16/2023
/ Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Applicants ,
Credit History ,
Creditors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
Joint Statements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Regulation B
On September 8, a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and several other trade associations, holding that the Consumer Financial Protection...more
9/12/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
UDAAP
On August 28, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its eighth redlining settlement under its Combatting Redlining Initiative. The settlement between the DOJ and the American Bank of Oklahoma, which originated from a...more
8/31/2023
/ Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDIC ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
As recently discussed on our podcast, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect...more
6/14/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
Data Reporting ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business Loans
On April 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) submitted a statement of interest to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida arguing that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s (ECOA) prohibition...more
On February 14, Patrice Ficklin, the Fair Lending Director for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), together with senior officials from the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal...more