CFPB “mystery shoppers,” along with secret recordings, were part of the CFPB’s factual allegations in a recent mortgage discrimination settlement. The DOJ and CFPB announced a settlement with BancorpSouth Bank to resolve alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The complaint alleges that from at least 2011 to 2013,… Read More
Tag Archives: DOJ
One-Two Punch: CFPB Indirect Auto and Add-On Product Orders
Posted in Auto Lending, CFPB, Credit Cards, Enforcement ActionsThe CFPB announced two new enforcement action settlements on September 28: one for alleged discriminatory auto loan pricing and the other for alleged deceptive credit card add-on product marketing practices. Indirect Auto Settlement: The joint CFPB and DOJ auto-lending enforcement action continues the Bureau’s campaign to regulate auto dealer markups via lender enforcement actions. In… Read More
CFPB Brings Long-Anticipated First Redlining Enforcement Action – New Approach to Redlining Analysis Is Put into Action
Posted in CFPB, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, MortgageOn September 24, 2015, the CFPB and DOJ announced a joint action against Hudson City Savings Bank for allegedly discriminatory redlining practices from 2009 through 2013 in certain neighborhoods in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act. Over the past few months,… Read More
#ThrowbackThursday: CFPB & DOJ Consent Orders with Former GE Capital Retail Bank: Something Old and Something New
Posted in CFPB, Credit Cards, Enforcement Actions, UDAAPIn June 2014, Morrison & Foerster published the client alert, “CFPB & DOJ Consent Orders with Former GE Capital Retail Bank: Something Old and Something New.” Summary: Yesterday, the CFPB announced a $225 million settlement of two major credit card enforcement matters with Synchrony Bank, formerly known as GE Capital Retail Bank. First, the “Add-On… Read More
Disparate Whatever
Posted in Disparate Impact, Fair LendingThe House has approved an amendment aimed at barring the Department of Justice (DOJ) from enforcing the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) fair lending disparate impact rule. The amendment is to H.R. 2578, the Fiscal Year 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. It would prohibit the DOJ from using… Read More
CFPB Enforcement Actions Take on LO Comp and Fair Lending
Posted in CFPB, Fair Lending, MortgageOver the past couple of weeks, the CFPB has kept itself busy in the mortgage origination enforcement arena. In one complaint, the CFPB ordered a residential mortgage lender and its CEO to each pay a $1 million civil penalty for compensating loan originators in a way that allegedly steered borrowers into mortgage loans with higher… Read More
DOJ Provides Guidance on Its Expectations of “Best Practices” for Corporate Internal Investigations
Posted in InvestigationsWhat does the Department of Justice think is a high-quality internal investigation? How does DOJ decide whether an investigation was good enough to help a company avoid, or at least mitigate, criminal charges? In recent speeches, DOJ has provided important guidance on its view of best practices, and some useful common-sense reminders, for our clients’ counsel… Read More
D.C. Court Strikes Down HUD Disparate Impact Rule
Posted in Disparate Impact, Fair LendingThe District Court of the District of Columbia has issued a decisive order vacating HUD’s 2013 Fair Housing Act disparate impact rule. The rule, as we’ve discussed, has always been based on a shaky legal foundation, but is one on which HUD and the DOJ have relied on in increasingly aggressive fair lending enforcement. Plaintiffs… Read More
Interagency Fair Lending Hot Topics
Posted in Auto Lending, CFPB, MortgageThis Wednesday, October 22, 2014, federal enforcement and regulatory agencies are hosting an interagency webinar on emerging fair lending issues and hot topics. Representatives from seven agencies—the DOJ, CFPB, FDIC, OCC, Fed, HUD, and NCUA—will participate. The discussion includes the agencies’ expectations for institutions’ compliance management systems and fair lending risk assessments, fair lending risk associated with… Read More