The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced that it has reached yet another agreement with a mortgage lender that apparently discriminated against a woman on maternity leave. The lender entered into the agreement to settle allegations that it denied woman a mortgage loan because she was pregnant and on maternity leave. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on […]
Tag: Fair Lending
INDIRECT AUTO FINANCING – FAIR LENDING CONCERNS
Recently the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a bulletin (CFPB Bulletin 2013-02) that provides guidance on compliance with the fair lending requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B for indirect auto lenders. The bulletin addresses practices that permit dealers to increase consumer interest rates and to compensate dealers with a share of the increased interest revenues. This guidance applies to all indirect auto lenders, including both depository institutions and nonbank […]
HUD’s EFFECTS TEST STANDARD
On February 15 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a final rule that formalizes a test for determining whether a given practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect, leading to liability under the Fair Housing Act. The final rule is effective on March 18, 2013. The regulation formalizes HUD’s long-held interpretation of the availability of “discriminatory effects” liability under the Fair Housing Act and to provide nationwide consistency in the application of that […]
DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CASE
On January 23, 2013 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the settlement of a case that alleged that the bank required a loan applicant with disabilities to provide unnecessary documentation to establish he would continue receiving disability income for three years before they would approve his mortgage loan. The applicant submitted documentation from the Social Security Administration as part of his mortgage application. Additional documentation was not needed because Social Security award […]
MATERNITY DISCRIMINATION CASE
On February 6, 2013 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the settlement of a case that alleged that the lender violated the Fair Housing Act by requiring a home loan applicant on paid maternity leave to return to work before the lender would approve a home loan. HUD’s complaint alleged that because the lender required the woman, a Navy veteran, to return to work before approving the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)- […]