Unprecedented levels of defaults and foreclosures have triggered scrutiny of the loan administration activities of mortgage lenders by government regulators, consumer advocates and private litigants. The focus of this scrutiny is fairness in servicing, which involves consideration of whether loan modifications, short sales and other loss mitigation strategies have been deployed appropriately to help protected classes in light of the perception that minorities have been hit harder than non-minorities by the foreclosure crisis. In her presentation to the Sixth Annual Mortgage Lending Industry Strategic Markets and Diversity Conference (June 2011), Ms. Tucker describes how pro-consumer studies and heightened focus on application of traditional fair lending principles to the mortgage servicing industry will lead to increased enforcement action and private litigation. She identifies lawsuits in which consumers have begun to advance claims of servicing discrimination in private litigation and in complaints to HUD.

Ms. Tucker concludes her presentation with a menu of risk mitigation steps that can be taken by loan servicers in light of today’s challenging legal environment.