fair lending

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The CFPB has issued “ECOA Baseline Review Procedures” to be used by its examiners.  (The CFPB has labeled the procedures “guidance” and did not add them to its Supervision and Examination Manual.)  The procedures consist of six “baseline review modules” for examiners to use “during ECOA baseline reviews to identify and analyze risks of ECOA violations, to facilitate the identification of certain types of ECOA and Regulation B violations, and to inform fair lending prioritization decisions for future CFPB reviews.” … Continue Reading

The CFPB, together with the Federal Reserve Board and the Department of Justice, will hold a  webinar on Tuesday, August 6 on ” Indirect Auto Lending – Fair Lending Considerations.”  

This webinar is part of an ongoing series focused on consumer compliance issues. Topics to be covered include: 

  • CFPB Bulletin 2013-02: “Indirect Auto Lending and Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)”
  • Definition of a “Creditor” under ECOA
  • Supervisory Guidance
  • Examination Procedures
  • Public Settlements
  • Emerging Issues 

There is no charge to attend the webinar, which will take place from 8:30 am – 9:30 am Pacific time (11:30 am – 12:30 pm Eastern).… Continue Reading

We have previously blogged about the CFPB’s laser-like focus on the fair lending practices of banks and non-banks purchasing auto finance consumer contracts from auto dealers. See here, here, here, here, and here.

In many of our posts, we have been very critical of the Bureau’s deployment of the disparate impact theory for identifying violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.… Continue Reading

During one of the panel discussions at the ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee meeting, a speaker indicated that the newly elected Mayor of Mt. Holly, NJ has publicly stated that he is interested in settling the case now pending before the U. S.  Supreme Court. As we previously reported, a cert petition is pending before the Court which once again tees up the question of whether a Fair Housing Act violation can be established through evidence of disparate impact on a protected class.… Continue Reading

On December 6, 2012, the CFPB and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) executed a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) aimed at strengthening their coordination in connection with fair lending investigations. The MOU also seeks to avoid duplication of the agencies’ respective enforcement efforts, particularly with regard to coordinating investigations of alleged violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”).… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued a draft strategic plan for 2013 to 2018 and is seeking comments which are due by October 25, 2012.  In the plan, the CFPB identifies four strategic goals and eleven desired outcomes in support of those goals, together with strategies that describe the actions the CFPB will take to accomplish the outcomes and performance measures and indicators it will use to assess its progress in achieving the desired outcomes.  … Continue Reading

The CFPB doesn’t want its fair lending authority to be in doubt. A recent blog post by Patrice Ficklin, the CFPB’s Assistant Director for the Office of Fair Lending & Equal Opportunity, describes the CFPB’s authority under the ECOA and HMDA and the “many tools” Ms. Ficklin’s office can use “to protect consumers from credit discrimination and promote fair access to credit.”… Continue Reading

In my post dated August 8, 2011, I took the CFPB to task for saying in its recent Progress report that it had entered into a MOU with the FTC when it had not done so according to Joel Winston, Associate Director of the Division of Financial Practices. I recently learned that the CFPB has entered into a MOU with the FTC, HUD, and DOJ regarding fair lending issues, but that it has not entered into a MOU with the FTC covering broader enforcement issues. … Continue Reading

With everything else on its plate, it wouldn’t seem unreasonable to expect the CFPB to take a “hands off” approach to small business credit. However, that’s not what the CFPB intends to do, according to testimony given last week to the House Small Business Committee by Dan Sokolov, the CFPB’s Deputy Associate Director for its Division of Research, Markets and Regulations.… Continue Reading