Redlining Isn’t What it Used To Be
Discrimination and Bias in Residential Lending
On August 25, the U.S. Supreme Court received a writ of certiorari from a mortgage lender (the petitioner) challenging a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upholding a jury verdict finding the...more
The recent American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators Annual Conference included a presentation highlighting the rising use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the Financial Services industry. As this will...more
President Donald Trump on Aug. 7, 2025, signed an executive order (EO or order) titled "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans," which declares that no American should be denied access to financial services based on...more
On August 7, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for all Americans” (EO). The EO broadly prohibits banks and other financial institutions from engaging in “politicized or...more
On August 7, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans” (the “Order”). The Order announces the Administration’s plan to address the exclusion of certain...more
A federal judge has rejected the Trump Administration’s request to release from court supervision a bank that had been accused of discriminatory lending....more
Key Takeaways: The OCC has removed references to “disparate impact” from its Fair Lending Handbook, consistent with the broader shift in federal enforcement philosophy under the current administration....more
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has reached a $2.5 million settlement with Earnest Operations LLC, a Delaware-based student loan company....more
On July 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued Bulletin 2025-16, announcing the removal of references to disparate impact liability from the “Fair Lending” booklet of the Comptroller’s Handbook and...more
On June 2, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania terminated a 2022 consent order and dismissed with prejudice the CFPB and DOJ’s redlining lawsuit against a nonbank mortgage lender. The motion to...more
As previously reported, based on an unopposed motion submitted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) the October 2021 redlining consent order with Trustmark National Bank was...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a motion with a federal district court to terminate early the September 2022 consent order with Lakeland Bank (Lakeland) that settled allegations of redlining under the Fair...more
As previously reported, in March 2025 the CFPB and Townstone Financial (Townstone) filed a joint motion with a U.S. District Court seeking to reverse the November 2024 consent order between the parties that resolved CFPB...more
On June 2, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a motion by the CFPB and DOJ to terminate a consent order and dismiss with prejudice a case alleging redlining against a mortgage lender...more
A federal district court recently granted the unopposed motion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to terminate their October 2021 consent order with Trustmark National Bank...more
On April 23, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” This order states that the U.S. aims to limit the use of disparate-impact liability in order...more
On May 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dismissed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) appeal concerning the vacated amendments to its Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts and Practices...more
This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a memo to staff outlining its new supervision and enforcement priorities for 2025....more
The CFPB is rescinding its existing enforcement and supervision priority documents, according to a memo sent to bureau staff by CFPB Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta....more
On March 26, the CFPB filed a motion to vacate its recent settlement against an Illinois-based mortgage lender accused of engaging in discriminatory marketing practices in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)...more
In a surprising turn of events, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) and Townstone Financial, Inc. (Townstone) have jointly moved to vacate the Stipulated Final Judgment and Order previously entered in...more
On March 26, the CFPB, in its first press release in over 50 days, announced its intention to seek to vacate a redlining settlement previously imposed on a nonbank retail-mortgage creditor and broker based in Chicago. As...more
Saying that the bureau under the Biden Administration abused its power, the CFPB is seeking to reverse its settlement with Townstone Financial....more
On March 11, New Jersey Attorney General (AG) Matthew Platkin and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) announced that DCR issued a finding of probable cause against Advance Funding Partners/Same Day Funding (Advance...more
The CFPB has taken action against the Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corp. (DKMC) based on allegations of discriminatory lending activities that, according to the CFPB, discouraged homebuyers from applying to the company for home...more