Limited English Proficiency

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced that for residential mortgage loans to be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac with application dates on or after March 1, 2023, the lender must present a Supplemental Consumer Information Form (SCIF) to collect information on the applicant’s language preference.  Previous plans to include a language preference question in the redesigned Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) were scuttled by the Trump Administration.… Continue Reading

A new Nevada law that becomes effective on October 1, 2021 requires translated documents to be provided to consumers by businesses that advertise and negotiate transactions covered by the law in a language other than English (or allow their agents or employees to advertise and negotiate in a language other than English). … Continue Reading

We are joined by Ena Koukourinis, Senior Counsel in the Bureau’s Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity, and Frank Vespa-Papaleo, the Office’s Deputy Director.  We discuss the statement’s background and goals, the fair lending and UDAAP concerns the statement seeks to address, key aspects of the guidance it provides, and Bureau resources available to industry concerning LEP consumers.… Continue Reading

Earlier this week, the CFPB announced that it has filed its first enforcement action under the leadership of Acting Director Uejio.  The lawsuit was filed in a Virginia federal district court jointly with the Attorneys General of Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York.  The complaint names as defendants Libre by Nexus, Inc.… Continue Reading

As we recently reported, the CFPB released new guidance on January 13, 2021, in an effort to give industry participants more concrete guidance about how to tackle the sometimes-daunting issue of serving customers in non-English languages.  Director Kraninger announced the guidance in a blog post of her own, and reached out with telephone calls to announce the release of the guidance. … Continue Reading

In a development welcomed by industry members, the CFPB published today a “Statement Regarding the Provision of Financial Products and Services to Consumers with Limited English Proficiency.”  The Statement is intended to provide “compliance principles and guidelines to inform and assist financial institutions in their decision making related to serving LEP consumers.”… Continue Reading

As discussed in our June 12th and August 7th posts, The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (“DCA”) issued new debt collection rules related to limited English proficiency servicing, which took effect June 27, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the DCA provided the industry with a 60-day enforcement grace period until August 26, 2020.… Continue Reading

As discussed in our June 12th post, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (“DCA”) issued new debt collection rules related to limited English proficiency servicing. These rules took effect June 27, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 crisis, DCA provided the industry with a 60-day enforcement grace period until August 26, 2020.… Continue Reading

On July 29, 2020, the CFPB hosted a roundtable discussion, attended by Director Kathy Kraninger and moderated by the Bureau’s Principal Deputy Director of Fair Lending, Frank Vespa-Papaleo, to hear feedback from consumer advocates and industry representatives on how the Bureau can facilitate greater access to financial products and services for consumers with limited English proficiency (LEP). … Continue Reading

Recent amendments to NYC’s debt collection rules impose new requirements relating to consumers’ language proficiency.  Following an overview, we take a close look at the specific requirements and their applicability to first- and third-party collections, discuss the DCA’s authority, availability of federal preemption, and compliance challenges, and offer thoughts on best compliance practices.… Continue Reading