Fair Lending

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In this episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast, host Alan Kaplinsky is joined by colleagues Pilar French and Burt Rublin to unpack a rapidly evolving issue at the intersection of bank–FinTech partnerships and interstate lending: the renewed exercise of state opt-out authority under Section 525 of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 (DIDMCA).… Continue Reading

On today’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast our host, Alan Kaplinsky, discusses the rapidly evolving landscape of federal financial supervision with Sherra Brown, Head of Regulatory Research and Analysis for the Americas at Vixio Regulatory Intelligence. Our conversation focuses on what may be a fundamental shift in supervisory practices at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the implications of parallel changes at the federal banking agencies.… Continue Reading

On February 12th, Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Representative Warren Davidson (R-OH) introduced the American Lending Fairness Act of 2026, legislation designed to restore long-standing federal interest rate exportation authority for state-chartered banks and credit unions engaged in interstate lending. The bill directly responds to the Tenth Circuit’s controversial 2-1 decision in National Association of Industrial Bankers v.… Continue Reading

The Justice Department and State of Texas recently entered into a settlement agreement with Colony Ridge Development, LLC and related entities (Colony Ridge) to settle allegations that Colony Ridge violated certain federal and state laws. The Justice Department had alleged violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Fair Housing Act (FHA).… Continue Reading

We have previously reported on the tortured history of the disparate impact rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Fair Housing Act, most recently here. HUD now proposes to remove the rule from its regulations. Comments are due by February 13, 2026.

How did we get here?… Continue Reading

As previously reported, in October 2023 the CFPB and DOJ issued a joint statement regarding “the potential civil rights implications of a creditor’s consideration of an individual’s immigration status under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).” We were critical of the joint statement, and observed that:

“By not providing clear guidance on when the consideration of immigration status can cross the line into improper discrimination based on race or national origin, the agencies make it difficult for us to avoid the conclusion that the agencies’ primary goal in issuing the statement is to scare creditors away from using immigration status in credit decisions.”… Continue Reading

Today’s podcast brings listeners a timely and insightful discussion as our panel examines the CFPB’s proposed amendments to Regulation B under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). As our regular listeners know, we released an episode yesterday, and we are providing this additional special episode in light of a development we consider both time-sensitive and exceptionally important.… Continue Reading

The trade group representing debt collection agencies, creditors, debt buyers, collection attorneys, and debt collection industry service providers has filed suit challenging the Colorado law that bans the inclusion of medical debts in credit reports.

ACA International is joined by one of its members, the Fresno Credit Bureau, in the suit against Martha Fulford, the Colorado Uniform Consumer Credit Code Administrator. … Continue Reading

Today’s episode marks the second of a two-part series, with Part One having been released on November 13th. In this installment, we continue our conversation on the many changes in fair lending policy and enforcement under the second Trump administration.

The discussion is moderated by Alan Kaplinsky, Senior Counsel, founder and former chair for 25 years of Ballard Spahr’s Consumer Financial Services Group, and features these distinguished experts in the field:

  1. Bradley Blower, Founder of Inclusive Partners LLC.
… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a proposed rule that would make substantial changes to Regulation B under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). In one of the most significant changes, the bureau has preliminary determined that disparate-impact claims are not authorized by ECOA. The proposal also addresses what constitutes prohibited discouragement of applicants or prospective applicants and would substantially revise the rules governing special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) offered by for-profit creditors, essentially eliminating many of such SPCPs.… Continue Reading