In a surprising turn of events, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) have jointly moved to vacate the Stipulated Final Judgment and Order previously entered in...more
3/28/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
First Amendment ,
Redlining ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
In a significant policy shift under the Trump administration, the new Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued an order on March 25, 2025 terminating special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) supported...more
3/28/2025
/ Banks ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
ECOA ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fannie Mae ,
FHFA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
GSE ,
Housing Market ,
HUD ,
Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its latest Supervisory Highlights report, focusing on the use of advanced technologies in credit scoring models. ...more
1/22/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Scores ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management
Earlier this week, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), National...more
12/6/2024
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Governance ,
ECOA ,
Elder Abuse ,
Elder Issues ,
Exploitation ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
FRB ,
Joint Statements ,
NCUA ,
OCC ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Vulnerable Victims
On November 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a pilot study titled “Matched-Pair Testing in Small Business Lending Markets” highlighting what the CFPB believes were two statistically...more
11/15/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Disparate Impact ,
Disparate Treatment ,
ECOA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Race Discrimination ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
In a significant development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has finally reached a settlement with Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) in the first redlining case brought against a nonbank...more
11/6/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On October 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that they reached a settlement with Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation (Fairway). This settlement...more
10/18/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
On October 10, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a landmark redlining settlement with Citadel Federal Credit Union (Citadel), marking the first such agreement with a credit union in the DOJ’s history. This...more
10/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Statutory Violations
As discussed here, on February 3, 2023, an Illinois federal court dismissed a case brought by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) in 2020 against Townstone Financial, Inc., a Chicago mortgage lender, for...more
7/15/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation B ,
Statutory Violations
As discussed, in a recent letter, the Chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) outlined the agency’s supervisory priorities for 2024. In this post, we delve deeper into the area of consumer protection...more
2/7/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Unions ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
NCUA ,
Popular ,
Regulation Z ,
Supervisory Guidance ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Late last month, the Revenue Based Finance Coalition (RBFC), a trade group of sales-based financing providers, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the Consumer...more
1/18/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1071
On December 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in a Texas federal court against Colony Ridge Development, LLC (Colony Ridge), its affiliates, and Loan...more
12/22/2023
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
False Statements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Predatory Lending ,
UDAAP
On October 24, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced a settlement with Wisconsin auto dealer group Rhinelander Auto Center, Inc. (Rhinelander), its current and former owners, and...more
10/27/2023
/ Add-ons ,
Auto Lease ,
Car Dealerships ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Native American Issues ,
Race Discrimination ,
Settlement ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (collectively, the agencies) issued a joint statement on the subject of creditors’ use of immigration status for eligibility...more
10/16/2023
/ Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Applicants ,
Credit History ,
Creditors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
Joint Statements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Regulation B
When using artificial intelligence (AI) or complex credit models, can lenders rely on the checklist of reasons provided in Regulation B sample forms for adverse action notices? According to today’s guidance issued by the...more
9/21/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Applicants ,
Creditors ,
ECOA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lack of Specificity ,
Lenders ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulation B
On September 8, a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) and several other trade associations, holding that the Consumer Financial Protection...more
9/12/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Community Financial Services Association of America Ltd ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
UDAAP
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
8/31/2023
/ Banks ,
Consent Order ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
FDIC ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
As discussed here, on April 26, the Texas Bankers Association, the American Bankers Association (ABA), and Rio Bank, McAllen, Texas (Rio Bank) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas...more
8/1/2023
/ American Bar Association (ABA) ,
CFPB v Community Financial Services Association of America ,
Community Financial Services Association ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Federal Funding ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injunctive Relief ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071
As recently discussed on our podcast here, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect...more
7/26/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Act ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business Loans
The American Association of Bank Directors (AABD) recently published the second edition of its Practical Handbook on Fair Lending for Bank Directors and Executive Officers (the Handbook), updating the first edition of the...more
As shown by a new report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) is focusing its fair lending work on mortgage origination and pricing, small business lending, redlining, and the use of artificial...more
7/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgages ,
NCUA ,
Redlining
s recently discussed on our podcast here, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect...more
As recently discussed on our podcast, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect...more
6/14/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
Data Reporting ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business Loans
Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his colleagues Mark Furletti, Joe Reilly, and Christine Emello for the last installment of a special three-part series about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s...more
5/30/2023
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Data Collection ,
ECOA ,
EFTA ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FDIC ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Gramm-Leach-Blilely Act ,
Licensing Rules ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Business ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
UDAAP
As recently discussed on our podcast here, section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require lenders to collect...more