CFPB Report Recaps 2014 Fair Lending Activities

CFPB Fair Lending Redlining

On April 28, the CFPB published its third annual report to Congress on its fair lending activities. Among other developments, the report highlights the following key supervision and enforcement priorities taken by the Bureau in the past year: (i) A continued focus on discrimination in the mortgage lending industry, including redlining and underwriting disparities; (ii) Emphasis on the auto lending industry, which has resulted in guidance given to lenders on complying with Federal consumer financial laws, and action taken when lenders do not abide by those laws; (iii) Attention to the credit card market, including an enforcement action against a company for its alleged failure to provide certain consumers with debt relief offers because of national origin; and (iv) Assistance to consumers who receive disability income by issuing Bulletin 2014-03 to lenders, which outlines the rights of a consumer whose income is derived, in part or in whole, from a public assistance program. According to the report, the Bureau’s efforts in 2014 to protect consumers from credit discrimination lead to financial institutions providing approximately $224 million in monetary relief to over 300,000 consumers.