NCUA Issues Fair Lending Guide, Plans Fair Lending Webinar

NCUA Fair Lending

On March 19, the NCUA released a letter to credit unions to introduce its new fair lending guide and announce other fair lending tools. The fair lending guide includes (i) an overview of fair lending law and regulations, (ii) credit union operational requirements, (iii) fair lending compliance policy considerations, and (iv) checklists for testing compliance with laws and regulations, or developing a fair lending policy for compliance. The letter also explains that the NCUA’s determinations about which credit unions will be examined for fair lending are based on (i) HMDA outliers, (ii) recent fair lending findings or violations identified in safety and soundness exams, (iii) general risk compliance ratings, and (iv) other factors such as volume, types, and complexity of products and services offered, types of communities served, and customer fair lending complaints. The NCUA also announced its plans to hold a fair lending webinar on April 4, 2013.