A&B ABstract: While we wait on the final interagency rule from the Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC, Illinois and New York are continuing along with their state Community Reinvestment Acts (CRA). Illinois CRA Developments Illinois announced that it would hold public hearings, two on March 2, 2023 and a third on March 8, 2023, to […]
Fair Lending
District Court Dismisses CFPB’s Redlining Case Against Townstone Financial
A&B ABstract: On Friday, in the CFPB v. Townstone Financial fair lending case, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed with prejudice the complaint filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), holding that the plain language of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) does not prohibit discrimination against prospective applicants. […]
Is the DOJ (De Facto) Enforcing the Community Reinvestment Act?
A&B Abstract: Furthering the Justice Department’s Combating Redlining Initiative, the Department of Justice has announced another redlining settlement. But this settlement is different – this one involves a bank that has received top marks by its prudential regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), for its compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a statute […]
GSEs to Require Mortgage Servicers to Obtain and Maintain Fair Lending Data
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
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 […]