On September 17, the DOJ and HUD announced a settlement with a New Jersey-based bank to resolve “redlining” lending discrimination allegations. The DOJ’s complaint claimed that from 2018 through at least 2022, the bank failed...more
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
Many bankers hear the term “Statistical Significance” but don’t know what it means and how it is relevant to potential fair lending violations. Typically, when an examiner is evaluating if a bank is redlining, they will...more
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Last week, the annual Community Reinvestment Act & Fair Lending Colloquium took place in Austin, Texas. Two officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) discussed in detail the “Combatting Redlining Initiative” led by...more
In the last three weeks, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached two more settlements with lenders under its Combatting Redlining Initiative, which began in October 2021. On September 27, the DOJ announced that...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has entered into a settlement with American Bank of Oklahoma (ABOK) to resolve allegations that ABOK engaged in unlawful redlining in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The DOJ opened its...more
As we reported in May, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) (together, the “Agencies”) issued a notice of proposed...more
Welcome to the Financial Services Report, holiday style! Banks and non-banks alike started early this year with additions and changes to their regulator stockings. The Senate confirmed Rohit Chopra as the new CFPB Director....more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) joined other federal agencies in announcing an increased focus on fair lending issues. On October 22, 2021, DOJ announced a new initiative to crack down on “modern-day” redlining. DOJ is...more
The message could not be clearer: lenders, both banks and non-banks, should expect an onslaught of new claims of redlining, including challenges to “modern-day” redlining, which allegedly “remains pervasive in the lending...more
The CFPB and DOJ, in cooperation with the OCC, filed a complaint and proposed consent order last week in the Western District of Tennessee against a national bank alleging that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA),...more
At the beginning of his term, President Biden declared that his administration would make it a policy to eliminate “racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all states of home-buying and renting.”...more
In the largest fair lending enforcement action in several years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on August 30 announced simultaneous settlements with a national banking...more
One of the most important areas of consumer financial regulation today is the use of internet- or social media-based platforms to target advertising for consumer financial products. ...more
The Independent Community Bankers of America issued a statement calling on the Trump administration “to rein in the overzealous application of fair lending laws.” ICBA stated that community banks are threatened by a recent...more
On June 29, 2016, BancorpSouth Bank announced a proposed settlement and consent order with the CFPB and the U.S. Department of Justice of charges that the bank’s mortgage lending practices violated the Equal Credit...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a proposed consent order with BancorpSouth Bank to settle charges that the bank’s mortgage lending practices violated the...more