Finance & Banking, Civil Rights

CFPB Issues Subpoenas to Motor Vehicle Lenders: Discretion = Discrimination?

by David Dresher, Elena Lovoy | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 5/10/2013

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFBP) has taken another step in its attempts to ensure “fair” pricing in indirect motor vehicle financing transactions. This latest development highlights the CFPB’s focus on the...more

Employers Should Review How Plan Documents Define Spouse in Light of Recent Benefits Litigation

by Lisa Loesel, Jacob Mattinson, Todd Solomon, Brian Tiemann | McDermott Will & Emery on 4/30/2013

Two recent cases challenging benefit eligibility for same-sex spouses highlight the need for employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans to clearly define "spouse" for eligibility purposes. Employers may want to review...more

Proposed New York City Bill Would Ban Credit Checks from Hiring Process

by Jonathan Sokolowsii | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/29/2013

On April 11, 2013, the New York City Council’s Committee on Civil Rights debated a proposed bill that would ban employers from using credit checks to evaluate prospective employees. The proposed bill, called the Stop Credit...more

New Risks for Indirect Lenders

by Michael Lueder | Foley & Lardner LLP on 4/23/2013

Last month the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it will start holding banks accountable for the discriminatory actions of indirect auto lenders. The issue arises when a consumer goes to purchase a car and...more

Cyprus: To Litigate or Not to Litigate?

by Pavlos Aristodemou | Harney Westwood & Riegels on 4/17/2013

Harneys’ Cyprus Banking Group is closely monitoring a legal challenge to the bail-out legislation which is currently before the Cyprus courts....more

American Bankers Association Real Estate Lending Conference - Qualified Mortgages: A Sea Change For Mortgage Lenders

by Robert H. Ledig, Thomas P. Vartanian | Dechert LLP on 4/16/2013

In This Presentation: - The Qualified Mortgage (QM) Rule - Small Creditor QM Proposal - The Ability-to-Repay (ATR) Rule: What It Says and What It Means - Liability for Failure to Comply with the ATR and QM...more

Wellness Programs Can Reduce Health Care Costs, But Can Your Bank Afford the Legal Risks?

by Katheryn Bradley, Craig Day, Mark McBride | Lane Powell PC - Labor & Employment Law on 4/15/2013

One option is wellness programs, which provide employees with incentives to engage in healthy behaviors. These programs have spread in both size and importance. According to one survey, 68 percent of employers provided...more

CFPB Updates Status Of Standard For Assessing Diversity At Supervised Institutions

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/15/2013

On March 29, the CFPB’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OWMI) published its annual report about the CFPB’s diversity and inclusion efforts from January 1, 2012 until December 31, 2012. The Dodd-Frank Act created the...more

CFPB seeking information on strategies to build financial capabilities for veterans and other special groups

by Barbara S. Mishkin | Ballard Spahr LLP on 4/10/2013

The CFPB is looking for responses by April 12 to two Requests for Information it has filed seeking information on how to build financial capabilities for people with disabilities, veterans in transition, and people who are...more

Housing Counselor Survey Alleges Banks Fail To Comply With National Mortgage Settlement.

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/8/2013

On April 3, a California borrower advocacy organization published the results of its survey of housing counselors, which the organization claims reveals that problems persist with the implementation of the national servicing...more

CFPB Office of Women and Minority Inclusion to propose diversity standards for regulated entities

by Barbara S. Mishkin | Ballard Spahr LLP on 4/3/2013

The CFPB’s Office of Women and Minority Inclusion (OMWI) has issued its first annual report to Congress covering the OMWI’s activities in 2012. The Dodd-Frank Act required the CFPB and various other federal agencies including...more

Auto finance: can we really call disparate impact “discrimination”?

by Christopher J. Willis | Ballard Spahr LLP on 4/1/2013

I want to thank Jeff Sovern over at the Public Citizen Consumer Law & Policy Blog for having an interesting back-and-forth with me over the last week about the application of the disparate impact theory of liability to dealer...more

Insights Into The Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Priorities For 2013

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/1/2013

On March 20, 2013, Michael Bresnick, Executive Director of DOJ’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force gave a speech at the Exchequer Club of Washington, DC highlighting recent accomplishments of the Task Force and outlining...more

New Study Claims Mortgage Lenders Discriminate Against Women

by BuckleySandler LLP on 3/22/2013

On March 12, the Chicago-based Woodstock Institute released research claiming that mortgage lenders discriminate against female applicants. The research is presented in a “fact sheet” and previews a longer report the group...more

HUD Final Rule on Disparate Impact under the Fair Housing Act

by Melanie Brody, Andrew C. Glass, Paul Hancock, Tori K. Shinohara | K&L Gates LLP on 3/13/2013

On February 8, 2013, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD” or the “Department”) finalized its controversial discriminatory effects rule (the “final rule” or “discriminatory effects rule”), thus formalizing...more

First ADA ATM Accessibility Class Action Lawsuit Is Filed in Atlanta

by William Barwick, Amelia Huskins, J. Colin Knisely | Duane Morris LLP on 3/8/2013

The first of what is likely to be many Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ATM accessibility class action lawsuits against Atlanta-area banks was filed in federal district court in Atlanta last week. The lawsuit was filed...more

Michigan ATMs Hit With Class Action Lawsuits Alleging Non-Compliance With ADA Requirements

by Ronald DeWaard, Brion Doyle | Varnum LLP on 3/8/2013

The first ATM accessibility class-action lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") were filed in federal district court in Michigan earlier this month. The class-action lawsuits request a permanent...more

Raising the Bar: HUD Issues New Rule Imposing More Demanding Standard for Defending Against Discrimination Claims Under the Fair...

by Bryan Merryman, Owen Pell, Gregory Starner, Duane D. Wall | White & Case LLP on 3/7/2013

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a new rule to formalize a national standard for determining whether a housing practice violates the Fair Housing Act (FHA) as the result of a...more

President Obama Signs Executive Order on Cybersecurity

by Carly Ziegler | Proskauer - Privacy & Data Security on 3/7/2013

As announced during the 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama recently signed an Executive Order on cybersecurity. The primary goals of the Executive Order are to (a) improve communication between private companies...more

Texas Bank Settles Hispanic Discrimination Suit

by Michele Bowman | Lawyers.com on 2/27/2013

The Department of Justice on Feb. 19 announced that Texas Champion Bank has agreed to pay $700,000 to settle allegations that it discriminated against Hispanics who applied for loans with the bank....more

The CFPB Stretches ECOA Past the Breaking Point with Auto Finance

by Christopher J. Willis | Ballard Spahr LLP on 2/22/2013

In a story released last night, Carter Dougherty at Bloomberg reports that the CFPB has warned “at least four banks” that it may take enforcement action against them under ECOA, alleging that a “policy” of “allowing” dealers...more

DOJ Settles Another ‘Pattern or Practice’ Fair Lending Case

by Richard J. Andreano, Jr., John L. Culhane, Jr., Alan S. Kaplinsky, Christopher J. Willis | Ballard Spahr LLP on 2/21/2013

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently settled a fair lending lawsuit against Texas Champion Bank. This means that, once again, a DOJ attempt to use disparate impact evidence to establish that a lender engaged in a...more

PNC Settles Maternity Leave Mortgage Suit

by Michele Bowman | Lawyers.com on 2/19/2013

PNC settled a lawsuit this month over its refusal of a mortgage loan to a Connecticut couple because the wife was on maternity leave. As part of the settlement, the bank must review the last two years’ worth of mortgage...more

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Issues Final Rule Affirming Use of Disparate Impact to Establish Liability for...

by Patrick D. Dolan, Robert H. Ledig, Ralph R. Mazzeo, Thomas P. Vartanian | Dechert LLP on 2/15/2013

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued a final rule (“Rule”) on February 8, 2013, which provides additional support to potential government and private plaintiffs seeking to challenge “facially...more

CFPB’s ECOA disparate impact test finds support in HUD’s FHA “Discriminatory Effects” final rule

by Barbara S. Mishkin | Ballard Spahr LLP on 2/14/2013

In April 2102, the CFPB issued a bulletin to confirm that it plans to apply a disparate impact test in exercising its supervisory and enforcement authority under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The...more

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Finance & Banking › Civil Rights