On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” which seeks to “eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree...more
For the last several years, federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), have been strongly encouraging financial institutions to implement and offer targeted credit assistance to...more
2/5/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
ECOA ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
Special Purpose Credit Programs ,
Trump Administration
On May 31, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued student loan servicer Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) for illegally collecting on student loans that have been discharged in...more
What Happened? The lender and consumers reached a settlement in an appraisal bias case, Nathan Connolly and Shani Mott v. Shane Lanham, 20/20 Valuations, LLC, and loanDepot.com, LLC, filed in Maryland District Court, that...more
4/26/2024
/ Appraisal ,
Bias ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Valuation ,
Lenders ,
Loan Applications ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Settlement
What Happened? Immediately following President Biden’s State of the Union Address announcing plans to lower homebuyer and refinancing costs, the CFPB issued a blog post seeking public input on how mortgage closing costs...more
What Happened? On January 24, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule that would prohibit covered financial institutions from imposing a nonsufficient funds (NSF) fee when...more
What Happened? Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) released a blog post touting its 2023 successes in safeguarding “household financial stability” through the levying of fines and...more
A&B Abstract: In Case You Missed It: At the recent Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Symposium on Property Insurance, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra spoke about force-placed insurance and conveyed the following message: “The...more
A&B Abstract: According to a recent edition of Inside Mortgage Finance, correspondent lending is the only lending channel that posted gains in Q3 2023. While it is always nice to see gains, it should also serve as a reminder...more
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending race-based admissions at colleges and universities could have a ripple effect on unrelated fields. Our Financial Services & Products Group explores how the Harvard decision could change...more
10/11/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Banking Sector ,
Community Reinvestment Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Minorities ,
Mortgage Lenders
Welcome to the latest edition of the Spectrum, covering hot-topic issues in the structured finance markets in the U.S. and UK. This edition features a new year for a new UCC Article 12, a farewell to LIBOR, and an appraisal...more
2/28/2023
/ Appraisal ,
Asset Management ,
Banking Sector ,
Bias ,
Blockchain ,
Commercial Loans ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Foreclosure ,
Libor ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Proposed Rules ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR)
A&B ABstract: Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion to address the applicability of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)’s Section 8 – the anti-kickback provision –...more
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...more
A&B ABstract: On December 12, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a proposed rule to require certain non-banks to register with the agency when they become subject to a public written order or...more
A&B ABstract: Mortgage assumptions – where a buyer assumes the existing mortgage loan of a seller – have fluctuated in popularity since the 1980s....more
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...more
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...more
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...more
3/17/2022
/ Appraisal ,
Biden Administration ,
Congressional Committees ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fannie Mae ,
Freddie Mac ,
HUD ,
Lenders ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulation Z ,
Residential Real Estate Market ,
Veterans Administration
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...more