Alston & Bird Consumer Finance ABstract

Melissa Malpass

About Melissa Malpass

Melissa Malpass advises financial institutions on compliance with federal and state consumer financial laws. She regularly counsels mortgage lenders on loan origination, including disclosures, loan originator compensation, ability-to-repay standards, and other requirements imposed by the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and Title XIV of the Dodd–Frank Act.

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GSEs to Require Mortgage Servicers to Obtain and Maintain Fair Lending Data

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A&B Abstract: On August 10, 2022, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “GSEs”) will require mortgage servicers to obtain and maintain fair lending data on their loans, beginning March 1, 2023. That same day, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “GSEs”) each issued guidance implementing the FHFA […]

CFPB and DOJ Announce Redlining Settlement Against Non-Bank Mortgage Lender

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A&B Abstract: On July 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) entered into a settlement with Trident Mortgage Company (“Trident”), resolving allegations under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) and the Fair Housing Act that the non-bank mortgage lender intentionally discriminated against majority-minority neighborhoods in the greater […]

PAVE Task Force Issues Action Plan to Address Appraisal Bias

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A&B Abstract: As part of the Biden Administration’s stated focus on narrowing the racial gap in wealth and homeownership, federal agencies launched an Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity (PAVE), with the goal of “addressing the persistent misvaluation and undervaluation of properties experienced by families and communities of color.” On March 23, […]

CFPB’s SBREFA Outline on Automated Valuation Models Rekindles Debate over Disparate Impact Liability under the ECOA

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Section 1473(q) of the Dodd-Frank Act (now codified at 12 U.S.C. § 3354(q)) amended the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (“FIRREA”) to instruct the CFPB, Fed, OCC, FDIC, NCUA, and FHFA (collectively, the “agencies”) to jointly develop regulations for quality control standards for automated valuation models (“AVMs”), defined as “any computerized […]

Modern-Day Redlining Enforcement: A New Baseline

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On October 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an aggressive new initiative, in collaboration with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country, to combat the practice of redlining. Three days prior, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was said to be hiring up to 30 new enforcement attorneys to focus on redlining and […]