On August 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Arizona Attorney General announced a proposed settlement with an Arizona-based vehicle dealership to resolve allegations that the dealership misrepresented prices...more
8/21/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arizona ,
Borrowers ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Consent ,
Consumer Fraud ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Section 5 ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On June 26, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) released its annual Fair Lending Report (the “Report”) for the calendar year 2023. The reporting period ran through December 31, 2023, so any...more
The plaintiffs and intervenors in the lawsuit filed in a Texas federal district court challenging the CFPB’s final small business lending rule implementing Section 1071 of Dodd-Frank (Rule) have filed a consolidated motion...more
3/8/2024
/ 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 ,
Data Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Lending ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business
On January 22, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered into a Stipulated Order for Permanent Injunction, Monetary Judgment, and Other Relief (the “Order”) with FloatMe Corp. (“FloatMe”), a fintech that offers...more
2/9/2024
/ Automatic Renewals ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FinTech ,
FTC Act ,
Hidden Fees ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Proposed Regulation ,
ROSCA ,
Stipulated Judgment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Last week, by a vote of 221-202, the House of Representatives voted to approve S.J. 32, the resolution introduced under the Congressional Review Act to override the CFPB’s final Section 1071 small business lending rule (1071...more
12/6/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Biden Administration ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Presidential Veto ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1071 ,
Small Business ,
Small Business Loans
In September 2023, the CFPB updated its UDAAP Examination Manual to remove the changes it made in March 2022 which provided that unfair acts or practices encompassed discriminatory conduct, even in circumstances to which...more
On November 6, the CFPB filed a notice with the Texas federal district court that it is appealing to the Fifth Circuit the district court’s order granting summary judgment to a group of trade associations in their lawsuit...more
A group of eleven Republican Senators who are members of the Senate Banking Committee have sent a letter to CFPB Director Rohit Chopra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to urge the CFPB and DOJ to retract the joint...more
11/8/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Applicants ,
Credit History ,
Creditors ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Immigration Status Discrimination ,
Joint Statements ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Regulation B
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
10/30/2023
/ Banks ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B
The CFPB has released the Summer 2023 edition of Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of auto origination and servicing, consumer reporting, debt collection, deposits, mortgage...more
7/31/2023
/ Bank Deposits ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Consumer Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Military Lending Act ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation B ,
Regulation X ,
Regulation Z ,
Supervisory Highlights ,
UDAAP
Asserting that irreparable harms to their members “are piling up,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the other plaintiffs have filed a motion for a status conference with the Texas federal district court hearing their lawsuit...more
The CFPB recently issued its annual fair lending report covering its fair lending activity in 2022....more
The CFPB has published a document on its website that “communicates the extent to which the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and its implementing Regulation B apply with respect to franchises seeking credit to finance...more
In the March 2023 issue of Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights, the FDIC discusses consumer compliance issues identified by its examiners during supervisory activities conducted in 2022 involving referral arrangements,...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have filed a Statement of Interest regarding the application of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to a...more
Park National Bank (“Park National”), based in Ohio, has agreed to pay $9 million to settle allegations brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that it engaged in unlawful redlining practices in the Columbus...more
The FTC recently sent its annual letter to the CFPB reporting on the FTC’s activities related to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B. The new letter reports on the FTC’s activities in 2022. The Bureau...more
2/15/2023
/ Annual Reports ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
Dodd-Frank ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HUD ,
Military Service Members ,
Regulation B
In recent remarks at the CRA & Fair Lending Colloquium, Grovetta Gardineer, Senior Deputy Comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, discussed the OCC’s current fair lending...more
The Justice Department announced that it has entered into an agreement with Lakeland Bank to settle the DOJ’s claims that Lakeland engaged in unlawful redlining in the Newark, New Jersey metropolitan area. The DOJ’s lawsuit...more
10/4/2022
/ Community Reinvestment Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Settlement Agreements
In response to a request from three Democratic House members, the GAO recently issued a report on its review of fair lending oversight conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. According to a Law360 report,...more
The CFPB recently issued its annual fair lending report covering its fair lending activity in 2021. ...more
The FTC has announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed jointly with the Illinois Attorney General against a group of auto dealerships that alleged the dealerships violated federal and state law by engaging in deceptive...more
The CFPB has released the Fall 2021 edition of its Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of credit card account management, debt collection, deposits, fair lending, mortgage...more
In the lawsuit alleging wrongful delay by the CFPB in adopting regulations to implement Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act, the parties have entered into a stipulation that requires the CFPB to issue a Notice of Proposed...more
While much attention has been paid to the “new CFPB’s” plans to make fair lending a top priority, the fair lending practices of financial institutions supervised by the federal banking agencies are also likely to face greater...more