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
Fair Lending
Facebook to limit demographic targeting by advertisers
By Scott M. Pearson on
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Facebook has agreed to remove age, gender, and zip code targeting for housing, employment, and credit-related advertisements as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Communications Workers of America, and other plaintiffs.
While Facebook reportedly did not permit advertisers…
FTC sends 2018 annual ECOA report to CFPB
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
The FTC has sent its annual letter to the CFPB reporting on the FTC’s activities related to compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B.
The FTC has authority to enforce the ECOA and Reg. B as to nonbank providers within its jurisdiction. However, like several of the FTC’s prior letters on its…
CFPB issues annual fair lending report
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in CFPB Monitor, Fair Lending
The CFPB has issued a new annual report covering its fair lending activities during 2017. Since Mick Mulvaney did not become Acting Director until the end of November 2017, the fair lending activities described in the report largely took place under former Director Cordray’s leadership.
The Bureau’s last annual fair lending report under former Director …
This week’s podcast: fair lending and website accessibility developments
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
While the pace of the CFPB’s fair lending activities has slowed under its new leadership, significant fair lending developments are occurring elsewhere. In this week’s podcast, we discuss several of those developments and their broader implications. Our discussion focuses on New York and Connecticut fair lending developments involving auto finance, a private redlining lawsuit, and…
Pennsylvania Attorney General solicits redlining complaints from consumers
By Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Posted in Fair Lending, State CFS Monitor
As part of an investigation launched earlier this year into allegations of redlining in the Philadelphia area, the Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro recently called on mortgage borrowers and home loan applicants in the Philadelphia area to file complaints with his office “if they believe they may have been victims of redlining or experienced irregularities…
Will HUD propose a revised disparate impact rule by December 18?
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
In June 2018, HUD issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) seeking comment on whether its 2013 Fair Housing Act disparate impact rule (Rule) should be revised in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Inclusive Communities decision. Comments on the ANPR were due by August 20, 2018. The Rule is the subject of …
CFPB hints at possible disparate impact rulemaking
By Christopher J. Willis on
On October 17, the Bureau released its Fall 2018 Rulemaking Agenda, but it included a surprise for those interested in fair lending. Under the section of the associated blog post entitled “Future Planning” appears the following statement:
“The Bureau is considering future [rulemaking] activity with regard to specific areas of consumer financial law of…
Connecticut bank sued for alleged discriminatory mortgage lending
By Alan S. Kaplinsky on
Last week, the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, Inc. filed a complaint against Liberty Bank in Connecticut federal district court alleging that the Bank engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. The complaint describes the Bank as “the eighth-largest conventional home purchase lender and eleventh-largest refinancer in Connecticut.”
The complaint…
FDIC issues research paper on use of digital footprints to assess creditworthiness
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
The FDIC’s Center for Financial Research has issued a research paper that discusses the use of the information contained in a “digital footprint,” meaning the information that people leave online by accessing or registering on a website, for predicting consumer default.
The researchers considered ten digital footprint variables that included:
- The device type (e.g. tablet
…