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In its proposed disparate impact rule published in today’s Federal Register, HUD sets forth a framework for making (and defending against) claims of disparate impact under the Fair Housing Act.  In this blog post, we take a closer look at a new and unique aspect of the proposed rule: its treatment of mathematical models…

HUD’s proposed revisions to its disparate impact rule were published in today’s Federal Register.  Comments on the proposal are due on or before October 18, 2019.

Originally adopted in 2013, the rule sets forth the requirements for HUD or a private plaintiff to establish liability under the Fair Housing Act for discriminatory practices based…

A new CFPB blog post titled “An update on credit access and the Bureau’s first No-Action Letter” provides a boost to lenders using alternative data and machine learning in their underwriting models.

The Bureau issued its first (and so far only) no-action letter in September 2017 to Upstart Network Inc. stating that the…

The CFPB has filed an answer in the lawsuit filed in May 2019 in a California federal district court by the California Reinvestment Coalition, the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, and two individual small business owners seeking a declaration that the CFPB’s failure to issue regulations implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act…

The CFPB’s annual fair lending report covering its 2018 activities was published in today’s Federal Register.  While most of the report recycles information about which we have previously blogged, it does contain the following noteworthy information:

  • In September 2018, the CFPB held a symposium to address the issue of access to credit for consumers

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The National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and two individual small business owners have joined the lawsuit filed against the CFPB in May 2019 by the California Reinvestment Coalition in a California federal district court seeking a declaration that the CFPB’s failure to issue regulations implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act violates…

The U.S. Department of Justice announced last Thursday that it had reached an agreement with First Merchants Bank, an Indiana state-chartered bank, to settle the redlining lawsuit that the DOJ filed against the bank on June 13, 2019 simultaneously with a settlement agreement and agreed order.

The agreement represents the second fair lending settlement…

Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Doug Jones have sent a letter to the CFPB, Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC expressing concern that fintech and traditional lenders using algorithms in their underwriting processes may be engaging in unlawful discrimination.  (Such algorithms are often referred to as “artificial intelligence.”)

In their letter, the Senators reference research results…

The California Reinvestment Coalition has filed a lawsuit against the CFPB in a California federal district court seeking a declaration that the CFPB’s failure to issue regulations implementing Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act violates the Administrative Procedure Act and requiring the CFPB to promptly issue such regulations.

Section 1071 amended the ECOA to require…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued a “Charge of Discrimination” against Facebook that charges the company “with engaging in discriminatory housing practices in violation of the [provisions of the Fair Housing Act that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin or disability.]” HUD’s Charge (which…