CFPB Releases 2020 Fair Lending Report
As part of its activities recognizing April as Fair Lending Month, Fair Housing Month, and Financial Capability Month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released its annual Fair Lending Report to Congress.
Throughout the year, the CFPB’s supervision program held prioritized assessments to better understand industry responses to challenges caused by the pandemic. The Bureau also enforced collaboration with consumer advocates, civil rights organizations, industry, academia, and other agencies to advance its fair lending mission.
“During my tenure, the Bureau will continue to use all the tools Congress gave it, including enforcement, supervision, rulemaking, guidance, research, and education to ensure fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit,” wrote CFPB Acting Director David Uejio in the report. “The Bureau will identify and act on opportunities to focus on consumers in underserved communities, while vigorously pursuing racial and economic justice. This includes, but is in no way limited to, robust enforcement of fair lending laws under the Bureau’s jurisdiction.”
The report highlights the CFPB’s announcement of two public enforcement actions pertaining to fair lending laws, as well as its interpretive rule about special purpose credit programs.
Additionally, the report explains the Tech Sprint hosted by the CFPB to unite stakeholders to develop innovative solutions to compliance issues, helping consumers and industry professionals better understand the complexities of merging technology and fair lending laws. The CFPB engaged with stakeholders to educate on fair lending and to hear their views on the Bureau’s work and policies.
“The Bureau recognizes that the economic fallout from the pandemic is only beginning, and the pandemic’s effects and impacts are not yet fully known,” the report says in its introduction. “What is certain, though, is that the Bureau’s fair lending work is and will continue to be a critical component of the Bureau and the Federal government’s response to the pandemic and the elimination of racial injustice.”
Read the full report here.
