The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently charged multiple entities with housing discrimination based on an asserted biased appraisal and denial of a mortgage refinance loan application based on the...more
In a major win for the CFPB, in CFPB v. Townstone Financial, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Circuit) recently held that the Regulation B provision prohibiting discrimination under the Equal...more
7/18/2024
/ Chevron Deference ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit ,
Creditors ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Oral Argument ,
Regulation B
On June 17, 2024, FHA announced in draft Mortgage Letter 2024-12 a proposed revision to its Defect Taxonomy to clarify that fraud or material misrepresentation involving a sponsored Third-Party Originator (TPO) is a Tier 1...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2024-10, FHA announced a requirement for FHA approved lenders to notify the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of Significant Cybersecurity Incidents. The Mortgagee Letter, which is...more
5/28/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Cybersecurity ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HUD ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgagee Letters ,
Mortgages ,
NIST ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Reporting Requirements
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a press release announcing a 2023 update to its Equity Action Plan. The Equity Action Plan is part of HUD’s efforts to implement President Biden’s...more
2/19/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
HUD ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Racial Bias
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Patriot Bank (Patriot or Bank) has agreed to pay $1.9 million to resolve allegations that the Bank engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining majority-Black and Hispanic...more
1/31/2024
/ Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining
On December 8, 2023, oral arguments were held before a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in the CFPB v. Townstone Financial case, in which the CFPB alleges that Townstone Financial, a...more
12/14/2023
/ Chevron Deference ,
Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Oral Argument ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
SCOTUS
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the 2024 loan limits for FHA insured forward mortgage loans and FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The announcements were made...more
11/30/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fannie Mae ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
HECM ,
HUD ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgagee Letters ,
Mortgages
Recently the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a proposed consent order with Ameris Bank to resolve allegations of redlining from 2016 through 2021 in majority Black and Hispanic areas in the Bank’s Jacksonville,...more
10/30/2023
/ Banks ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement agreement with Washington Trust Company, of Westerly (WTC) to resolve claims that WTC redlined majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island....more
10/24/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Loan Officer ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
Rhode Island ,
Settlement
More than ten years after the filing of the initial complaint challenging the 2013 disparate impact rule (Rule) adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Fair Housing Act (Act), the...more
The Mortgage Bankers Association and Housing Policy Council (the “Associations”) recently filed an Amici Curiae brief supporting the position of Townstone Financial regarding the scope of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced in Mortgagee Letter 2023.13 that lenders must use the Supplemental Consumer Information Form (SCIF) of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in connection...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a final rule reinstating the 2013 version of its disparate impact rule under the Fair Housing Act (Act) to replace a version of the rule adopted by...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have filed a Statement of Interest regarding the application of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to a...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2023-01, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addressed the use of the revised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family loan documents with FHA Title II forward mortgage loans. As...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a draft Mortgagee Letter on reconsideration of value (ROV) policies in connection with appraisals for FHA insured mortgage loans. The draft Mortgagee...more
In Mortgagee Letter 2022-22 dated December 15, 2022, the FHA announced updates to its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook (HUD Handbook 4000.1) that modifies its policies governing conflicts of interest and dual employment....more
Ginnie Mae advises in the report that in early 2016 it and investors in Ginnie Mae guaranteed MBS “first began to identify a wave of early loan repayments and serial refinancing as a problem with much greater incidence in VA...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the 2023 loan limits for FHA insured forward mortgage loans and FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The announcements were made...more
The U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a final rule permitting the use of private flood insurance policies with FHA-insured mortgage loans. HUD also issued Mortgagee Letter 2022-18 addressing...more
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) recently filed two complaints against appraisers with the Department of Housing and Urban Development asserting different treatment based on race in violation of the Fair...more
For forward Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured purchase mortgage loans made to first-time homebuyers, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced in Mortgagee Letter 2022-17 the...more
The Justice Department announced that it has entered into an agreement with Lakeland Bank to settle the DOJ’s claims that Lakeland engaged in unlawful redlining in the Newark, New Jersey metropolitan area. The DOJ’s lawsuit...more
10/4/2022
/ Community Reinvestment Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement Agreements
In Mortgagee Letter 2022-14 , dated August 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) requirement for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lenders and...more