David Ogden, Franca Harris Gutierrez, Debo Adegbile and Benjamin Chapin Discuss Fair Lending in Bloomberg Law

• David Ogden, Franca Gutierrez, Debo Adegbile, Benjamin Chapin
• 10.28.2021

Writing for Bloomberg Law, David Ogden, Franca Harris Gutierrez, Debo Adegbile and Benjamin Chapin penned an article titled, “Risks & Opportunities of Regulatory Focus on Fair Lending.” The authors discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s effort to actively ramp up its fair lending investigations and enforcement activity.

As the acting director explained, the CFPB has rededicated itself to “robust enforcement” of the nation's fair lending laws to “address issues of pervasive racial injustice and the long-term economic impacts” of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on the impact to minority and other vulnerable populations.

The CFPB's renewed focus on fair lending and, specifically, enforcement of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B, provides "an impetus for financial institutions and other entities subject to its jurisdiction to reassess their fair lending compliance programs before they find themselves the subject of a probing fair lending exam." Additionally, the authors note the CFPB's renewed focus on fair lending enforcement "presents institutions with an opportunity to align business plans and their internal equity commitments with the agency's policy aims by expanding services into underbanked or otherwise underserved communities."

Read the full article.