CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The CFPB recently issued its annual fair lending report covering its fair lending activity in 2021.
In the report’s discussion of its risk-based approach for prioritizing fair lending supervisory and enforcement activity, the CFPB indicates that much of its enforcement and supervision efforts were focused on advancing its priorities of advancing racial and economic equity and promoting economic recovery related to the COVID-19 pandemic. … Continue Reading
The CFPB has issued a new advisory opinion “to affirm that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B protect those actively seeking credit and those who sought and received credit.”
The ECOA defines an “applicant” to mean “any person who applies to a creditor directly for an extension, renewal, or continuation of credit, or applies to a creditor indirectly by use of an existing credit plan for an amount exceeding a previously established credit limit.”… Continue Reading
The FTC has announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed jointly with the Illinois Attorney General against a group of auto dealerships that alleged the dealerships violated federal and state law by engaging in deceptive practices in connection with add-on charges and by discriminating against Black consumers in connection with the financing of vehicle purchases. … Continue Reading
In a new lawsuit filed in a California federal district court, a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) alleges that a credit union violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (42 U.S.C. § 1981) and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (UCRA) by denying her loan application based on her status as a DACA recipient.… Continue Reading
Consistent with expectations that the CFPB under Director Chopra’s leadership would take an expansive view of its statutory authorities, the CFPB has announced its intention to use its authority to prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs) to target discriminatory conduct, even where fair lending laws may not apply.… Continue Reading
On February 4, 2022, the FTC sent its annual letter to the CFPB reporting on the FTC’s activities related to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The Bureau includes the FTC’s annual letter in its own annual report to Congress on the ECOA.
The FTC has authority to enforce the ECOA and Regulation B with respect to nonbank financial service providers within its jurisdiction. … Continue Reading
The CFPB recently issued an outline entitled Small Business Advisory Review Panel for Automated Valuation Model (AVM) Rulemaking. While the outline addresses an upcoming joint rulemaking to implement quality control requirements for AVMs, the CFPB specifically focuses on the potential for AVMs to pose fair lending risks to homebuyers and homeowners. … Continue Reading
On February 22, 2022, the CFPB filed its eighth status report with the California federal district court hearing the lawsuit brought by the California Reinvestment Coalition, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, and two individual plaintiffs in 2019. The purpose of the suit was to force the Bureau to issue a proposal implementing the small business data requirements of Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 after years of delay.… Continue Reading
Yesterday, eight federal agencies joined together to issue an “Interagency Statement on Special Purpose Credit Programs Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B” (Interagency Statement). The agencies consist of the CFPB, FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve Board, NCUA, HUD, DOJ, and FHFA. The Interagency Statement indicates that it is intended “to remind creditors of the ability under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B to establish special purpose credit programs to meet the credit needs of specified classes of persons” and to “call[] attention to the special purpose credit options under ECOA and Regulation B.”… Continue Reading
The CFPB’s Fair Lending Director, together with senior officials from other federal agencies, have sent a letter to The Appraisal Foundation (TAF) commenting on proposed changes to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). (TAF is a private, non-governmental organization that sets professional standards for appraisers.) The other agencies joining in the letter are the Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Department of Justice.… Continue Reading
