Mortgages, Race Discrimination

Is Fair Lending Enforcement Fair Today? Part II

GeoDataVision on 8/27/2024

Previously, I have written about regulatory enforcement of anti-redlining regulations. I pointed out the problems and potentially misleading statistical conclusions caused by the application of what is called a “REMA” or...more

Redlining Isn’t What it Used To Be

GeoDataVision on 8/12/2024

In a recent podcast, Len and Dean discuss the June 10 article "Manufacturing Fair Lending" from National Mortgage Professional, which delves into the "Modern Theory of Redlining" introduced by bank regulators after AG...more

HUD Charges Appraiser, Appraisal Management Company, and Lender with Race Discrimination

Ballard Spahr LLP on 8/6/2024

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently charged multiple entities with housing discrimination based on an asserted biased appraisal and denial of a mortgage refinance loan application based on the...more

HUD charges appraiser for alleged racial discrimination

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 8/1/2024

On July 15, HUD released a charge of discrimination on behalf of a complainant against several respondents, including a mortgage lender and its agent (an appraisal management company), for allegedly discriminating against the...more

How to Minimize Compliance Risk in the Radical New “Modern” Redlining Era

GeoDataVision on 7/25/2024

As any bank professional regulatory compliance professional knows redlining is the hottest issue today and has been since Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the “Combatting Redlining Initiative” in October 2021. Since...more

HUD Files Appraisal Discrimination Charge Against Rocket Mortgage

Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC on 7/23/2024

The Fair Housing Act Applies to Residential Real Estate Appraisals - The Fair Housing Act (FHA) was passed in 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. Since then, the...more

“Manufactured” Redlining

GeoDataVision on 6/17/2024

In a recent article in National Mortgage Professional entitled "Manufacturing Fair Lending”, former chief of the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr, Paul...more

“Figures don’t lie” but do regulators figure? Simpson’s Paradox says so

GeoDataVision on 6/13/2024

In emails in recent months we've warned bankers about the extremely aggressive enforcement of anti-redlining policies. This is becoming more and more obvious every day as more banks get threatened with referral to the DOJ....more

Are Regulators Fairly Evaluating the Hottest Fair Lending Issue: Redlining?

GeoDataVision on 5/20/2024

Since October 2021, the prudential bank regulators in concert with the Department of Justice have been pursuing the “Anti-Redlining Initiative” announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland on October 21, 2021. During that...more

Is Fair Lending Enforcement Fair Today?

GeoDataVision on 4/22/2024

Every banker should know by now that the Department of Justice announced an “Anti-Redlining” crusade in October 2021. In his October 2021, press release, Attorney General Merrick Garland, proclaimed that redlining is...more

DOJ Comments Reveal Road Ahead for Mortgage Redlining

Troutman Pepper on 3/12/2024

For the last two years, the federal regulatory agencies have been waging a war on redlining by mortgage lenders — a war that shows no signs of abating. Originally published in Law360 - December 12, 2023....more

Nutter Bank Report: February 2024

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP on 2/29/2024

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and state authorities have agreed to a consent order with a large national bank to resolve allegations that the bank engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by affecting...more

The Potentially Adverse Fair Lending Implications of the New CRA Rule

GeoDataVision on 2/26/2024

There has been much understandable handwringing about the new CRA and its complexity as well as the high CRA exam failure rate predicted by regulators based on the new assessment areas and the higher performance standards...more

HUD Issues 2023 Update to Housing Equity Action Plan

Ballard Spahr LLP on 2/19/2024

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently issued a press release announcing a 2023 update to its Equity Action Plan. The Equity Action Plan is part of HUD’s efforts to implement President Biden’s...more

Redlining Was Outlawed More than 50 Years Ago – Does It Still Continue?

Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC on 2/5/2024

Recently, my son took an online college course about social justice in the as-built environment. One topic in the class was redlining – a practice that limited the availability of affordable home loans for minorities. ...more

DOJ Settles with Patriot Bank for Redlining in Memphis

Ballard Spahr LLP on 1/31/2024

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Patriot Bank (Patriot or Bank) has agreed to pay $1.9 million to resolve allegations that the Bank engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining majority-Black and Hispanic...more

What is a “REMA” and why is it so important?

GeoDataVision on 1/18/2024

As I write this article the Department of Justice is pursuing a record-breaking number of “redlining” cases against banks and mortgage lenders. The “Anti-redlining Initiative” was announced October 22, 2021, by Attorney...more

DOJ Redlining Consent Order With Ameris Bank

Ballard Spahr LLP on 10/30/2023

Recently the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a proposed consent order with Ameris Bank to resolve allegations of redlining from 2016 through 2021 in majority Black and Hispanic areas in the Bank’s Jacksonville,...more

DOJ Settles Redlining Claims in Rhode Island

Ballard Spahr LLP on 10/24/2023

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement agreement with Washington Trust Company, of Westerly (WTC) to resolve claims that WTC redlined majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Rhode Island....more

DOJ Reaches $1.15 Million Redlining Settlement With American Bank of Oklahoma

Troutman Pepper on 8/31/2023

On August 28, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its eighth redlining settlement under its Combatting Redlining Initiative. The settlement between the DOJ and the American Bank of Oklahoma, which originated from a...more

CFPB Bites of the Month - July 2023 - Freedom, Independence, and Celebration From the CFPB

Hudson Cook, LLP on 7/24/2023

In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior month covered during the July 2023 webinar. Bite 10: Public Inquiry Launched into Credit Card and Loan Products for Healthcare Costs - On July 7,...more

CFPB files brief with Seventh Circuit in appeal from district court ruling In Townstone Mortgage that ECOA only applies to...

Ballard Spahr LLP on 6/21/2023

The CFPB has filed its opening brief in its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from the district court’s decision in the CFPB’s enforcement action against Townstone Mortgage (Townstone). In the case,...more

DOJ Settles Redlining Claim Against ESSA Bank

Ballard Spahr LLP on 6/16/2023

The Justice Department (DOJ) recently announced a settlement with ESSA Bank & Trust (ESSA), which has agreed to pay over $3 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining in violation of...more

CFPB Continues to Press for Expanded Definition of Credit Transaction Under ECOA by Interjecting its Position in Pending Private...

Troutman Pepper on 4/17/2023

On April 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) submitted a statement of interest to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida arguing that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s (ECOA) prohibition...more

CFPB Bites of the Month - March 2023 - Beware the Ides of March and the CFPB

Hudson Cook, LLP on 3/27/2023

In this month's article, we share some of our top "bites" for the prior month covered during the March 2023 webinar....more

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