Fair Lending

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The CFPB has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.  Section 1071 amended the ECOA to require financial institutions to collect and report certain data in connection with credit applications made by women- or minority-owned businesses and small businesses.  Comments on the NPRM will be due no…

In this podcast, we discuss: the compliance challenges that could give rise to enforcement actions against PPP lenders and current and potential future investigatory activity; fair lending guidance for PPP lenders, key fair lending risks, and steps to mitigate fair lending risk; the status of examinations and reviews related to PPP loans; sources of compliance…

We look at the practices found to be unlawful by CFPB examiners in these markets, discuss what the findings signal for future scrutiny of these markets by the “new CFPB”, and share practical takeaways for companies operating in these markets.  Issues highlighted in our conversation include the CFPB’s findings regarding “unreliable furnishers,” furnisher handling of…

In the lawsuit alleging wrongful delay by the CFPB in adopting regulations to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the parties have entered into a stipulation that requires the CFPB to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by September 30, 2021.

Section 1071 amended the ECOA to require financial institutions to collect and…

The CFPB recently issued a report entitled Data Point: Asian American and Pacific Islanders in the Mortgage Market. The report briefly examines differences among subgroups of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) based on the 2020 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data. In issuing the report the CFPB stated that “[e]xisting studies often portray…

After announcing several years ago that it intended to pick up with fair lending enforcement in the indirect auto finance market where the CFPB left off, the New York Department of Financial Services has announced two consent orders with smaller, New York-chartered banks based on the allegation that allowing auto dealers to negotiate the retail…

After discussing the current state of the regulators’ knowledge about artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) in underwriting models, we examine the regulators’ key areas of focus for ML models (explainability/accuracy in adverse action notices, potential hidden bias, testing for disparate impact), discuss how to test for and counteract disparate impact and how to search…

During May 2021, the federal Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued a report (GAO-21-393) containing findings from its review of issues related to the CFPB’s oversight and enforcement of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”).  Specifically, the report examines how the CFPB has (i) managed the reorganization of its…

Two leaders of the CFPB’s Fair Lending Office – Patrice Ficklin, Fair Lending Director, and Charles Nier, Senior Fair Lending Counsel – recently published an article advocating for broader use of special purpose credit programs (“SPCPs”) by creditors.  The article, entitled “The Use of Special Purpose Credit Programs to Promote Racial and Economic Equity” and…

The CFPB has filed its fifth status report with the California federal district court as required by the Stipulated Settlement Agreement (Agreement) in the lawsuit filed against the Bureau in May 2019 alleging wrongful delay in adopting regulations to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Section 1071 amended the ECOA to require financial institutions…