Description:
Recent months have brought a flurry of activity in the areas of fair banking and fair lending. The change of Administration has drastically changed the focus and priorities of government authorities in ways we never could have imagined.
What are the changes and how will they affect community banking? Consider:
Executive Order 14331 “Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans” (aka The Debanking Order)
- Aim: Prohibit financial institutions from “debanking” (closing accounts or denying services) based on political, religious, or other “reputational risk” factors.
- Effect: Financial institutions must have a valid reason for not banking a customer. What are acceptable, valid reasons?
- Risk: Claims of discrimination. The OCC issued a damning report 12/10/25 on their preliminary findings, finding that banks have “weaponized finance”, and promising to “halt these harmful and unfair practices”.
Executive Order 14281 “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy” (aka The Disparate Impact Order)
- Aim: Prohibit the use of disparate impact legal theory by federal agencies “in all contexts to the maximum degree possible”.
- Effect: Significant shift in fair lending – removing one of the 3 legs of discrimination, leaving overt discrimination and disparate treatment
- Risk: Bank uncertainty and fear that any relaxation of core policies and procedures will leave a financial institution open to litigation, state action, and supervisory look-backs if everything changes again in the next administration.
CFPB’s Shift in Priorities and Changes to Regulation B:
- CFPB’s shift in fair lending: “No longer using disparate impact in supervision or enforcement of fair lending laws”
- Will now only focus on intentional racial discrimination and actual identified victims
- Substantial proposed changes to Reg B, including removal of the Effects Test (disparate impact) when determining if discrimination violates ECOA; changing what constitutes “discouragement” in credit; and amending Special Purpose Credit Programs.
We are watching history unfold before our eyes. Huge changes to statutory interpretation, regulatory supervision, and fair lending enforcement are happening in real time, while we try to keep up.
Understanding what is happening (and why) is paramount to good bank governance. Get up to speed on the facts, to help your bank management make the best informed risk-based decisions to stay compliant and successful.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Compliance staff, risk managers, loan policy makers, operations managers, operations staff, new accounts, legal, and audit.
Presenters:
Rebekah Leonard, CRCM
Rebekah is the owner of Elucidate LLC, a compliance training and consulting company. Elucidate means to “make clear, explain, throw light upon”, and describes Rebekah’s desire to illuminate the complexities of compliance with passion and fun. She’s created and produced a TRID music video parody and several Compliance Breakout escape rooms, which she frequently provides at state banking compliance conferences. She is an accomplished speaker and regularly provides webinars through BOL and Compliance Resource.
Rebekah is currently serving as the VP Director of Compliance for a $6 Billion community bank in Montana. She began her career in 1995 at a private lending company, but soon settled into banking, where she’s covered nearly all of it – customer service and teller work, loan processing and review, and security and business continuity. She now oversees CRA, BSA and all aspects of compliance as a senior leader. She has successfully navigated numerous FDIC Compliance, CRA, and BSA Exams.
Rebekah has a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University (Magna cum Laude), attended the American Bankers Association National Compliance School in 2003, and has held her Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager designation since 2006. She is a BOL Compliance Guru.
April 8, 2026