Links in “CFPB”

On October 15, 2015, the Federal Reserve System will host a fair lending webinar. Participating agencies will include NCUA, CFPB, the FDIC, the OCC, the DOJ, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A wide range of subjects will be discussed, including developments in mortgage lending, compliance management, pricing, and the use of data to evaluate fair lending risk. [9/29/15]

Without reforms, the unverified nature of the CFPB's complaint narratives and the failure to allow the accused to adequately respond are growing pains that will "ultimately be its undoing," according to the head of the Mortgage Bankers Association. [9/29/15]

It pays to be popular. Dr. Bernard Siskin, the CFPB's go-to expert in disparate impact, is also the go-to expert of many major banks. His firm has received more than $1 million since 2012 from the CFPB alone. [9/29/15]

The CFPB and DOJ hit Fifth Third Bancorp for an $18 million settlement over the dealer markup rate minority borrowers were charged compared to white borrowers for car loans. The bank says it has no way of knowing the ethnicity of borrowers whose loans are submitted by auto dealers. [9/29/15]

Fifth Third Bank, which operates roughly 1,300 branches in twelve states, is the subject of joint enforcement actions by the Department of Justice and the CFPB. As a result of an auto-lending enforcement action that rose from an Equal Credit Opportunity Act examination, the bank will pay $18 million to minority status borrowers and revise its pricing and compensation systems to protect against discrimination. In addition, due to an action for deceptive marketing of credit card add-on products, it will pay approximately $3 million to aggrieved customers and incur a $500,000 penalty.   [9/29/15]

The DOJ/CFPB's complaint alleges the Hudson City Savings Bank opened branches around, but not in, counties with the highest proportions of minority neighborhoods, generated 80% of mortgage applications outside minority areas, marketed around minority neighborhoods, excluded minority neighborhoods from its assessment area, and paid too little attention to fair lending compliance. [9/28/15]

The House Financial Services Committee is slated to mark up three bills on Wednesday that could provide regulatory relief for credit unions. The first would require NCUA to stop and conduct a study regarding its proposed risk-based capital rule before proceeding with a final rule. The other two bills affect the leadership of the CFPB and the fiduciary responsibilities of investment advisors. [9/28/15]

The CFPB and the Department of Justice have entered into the largest redlining settlement in history ($32.75 million) against Hudson City Savings Bank. The joint agency action alleges that the bank provided unequal access to credit to minority neighborhoods in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania by intentionally locating branch offices and mortgage originators outside of minority neighborhoods and limiting its marketing to non-minority areas. [9/25/15]

Besides coming in at a cool $27 million, the largest redlining settlement in history to provide direct subsidies, the Hudson City Savings Bank settlement with the Department of Justice and the CFPB offers other reasons to worry as well. There are more redlining investigations underway. The DOJ isn't sure if the increases are because there are more violations happening now or because redlining investigations have become a priority focus. [9/25/15]

The CFPB released its final rule under Reg. Z that redefines "small creditors" and "rural areas." The rule goes into effect 1/1/16. Here's what you need to know about it. [9/25/15]