Recently the City of Providence, Rhode Island filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Santander Bank, N.A. has discriminated against Providence’s minority communities by refusing to make prime mortgage loans available in minority neighborhoods as required under the Fair Housing Act. Providence is seeking millions in damages from Santander, Mayor Angel Taveras said, and hopes that federal regulators open investigations into potential redlining. Santander denied the allegations. Santander is owned by Spanish banking giant, Banco Santander […]
Category: CFPB
CFPB’s eCLOSING PILOT
Recently the CFPB announced plans to launch an eClosing pilot project in the fall of 2014. The project is supposed to improve the closing experience for consumers. The project is being launched before the new integrated disclosures, the loan estimate and the closing disclosure, take effect. The CFPB has control over the two integrated disclosures, but many other forms involved in closing are not under the CFPB’s control. The success of the pilot will depend […]
CFPB DIVERSITY ISSUES – LESSONS LEARNED
Recently it has been revealed that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has a disparate treatment problem. CFPB managers have rated white staff members distinctly better than minority staff members in staff reviews that are used, in addition to other purposes, for determining raises and bonuses. The evidence against the CFPB appears solid. The manner in which the CFPB has responded to this embarrassing mess holds lessons for any bank subject to charges of disparate […]
CFPB PRIVACY PROPOSAL PROMOTES MORE EFFECTIVE DISCLOSURES: GOOD NEWS
On May 6, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a rule that would amend Regulation P, Privacy of Consumer Financial Information. The proposed rule would promote more effective privacy disclosures from financial institutions to their customers, while also providing some good news for banks. Currently financial institutions send annual privacy notices to their customers that describe if and how consumer’s nonpublic personal information will be shared. If the institution shares information with an […]
IMPLEMENTING THE NEW INTEGRATED DISCLOSURES – Part II
As explained in the first part of this article implementing the new integrated disclosures is a massive task. Lenders that have a plan and get an early start on the process will complete the task by the August 1, 2015 deadline with minimal stress to all involved. We advocate a three-step process for implementing the New disclosures. Master the Material – Mastering 1,888 pages of regulation and related material doesn’t happen quickly. Most of us […]