Maryland has enacted legislation that revises the rules of determining creditworthiness.  On May 30, 2021, Maryland Governor Lawrence J. Hogan (R) signed HB1213 into law, which adds to Maryland Code Ann. Financial Institutions (FI) § 1-212.

Effective October 1, 2021, certain financial institutions (banking institutions, credit unions, savings and loan associations, community development financial institutions, and certain credit grantors) must adhere to the rules concerning evaluations of applications under federal law, specifically 12 C.F.R.Continue Reading

On July 28, 2020, the CFPB issued a request for information (“RFI”) seeking public input on how best to create a regulatory environment that expands access to credit and ensures consumers and communities are protected from discrimination in all aspects of credit transactions. The Bureau issued the RFI in lieu of a symposium it had planned to host this fall on Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) issues.… Continue Reading

On the last day of California’s 2019 legislative session, by a vote of 61 to 8, the California State Assembly overwhelmingly passed Assembly Bill 539, the Fair Access to Credit Act. Governor Newsom has until October 13th to sign or veto the bill.

As we’ve previously covered, AB 539 makes significant amendments to the California Financing Law.… Continue Reading

This past Wednesday the House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing titled “Examining Discrimination in the Automobile Loan and Insurance Industries.” As the Majority Staff’s Hearing Memo noted, auto loan debt is the third largest category of household debt, after mortgages and student loans, and Americans now owe $1.26 trillion in auto loan debt.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a fair lending report covering its fair lending activities during 2014.  The report states that in 2014, CFPB fair lending supervisory and public enforcement actions required institutions to provide approximately $224 million in remediation.

The report begins with a discussion of factors the CFPB considers in its risk-based prioritization approach for determining “what, where, and how fair lending risks to consumers should be addressed.” … Continue Reading

The U.S. Supreme Court has set January 21, 2015 as the date for oral argument in
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., which is the case presenting the issue whether disparate impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act.  The petitioners’ merits brief was filed on November 17th.… Continue Reading

Along with its proposed larger participant rule for the auto financing market, the CFPB recently issued a special edition of Supervisory Highlights (“report”) describing its fair credit supervisory activity in what it characterizes as “the indirect automobile lending market.”

The report indicates that CFPB supervisory examination teams have been conducting targeted Equal Credit Opportunity Act compliance reviews of “indirect auto lenders. … Continue Reading