Mar 24, 2020
Fair Lending never seems to fall out of fashion. While the rest of the industry is focusing on TRID, Flood Insurance and HMDA, the regulatory agencies, the Department of Justice and plaintiff attorneys are focused intently on the issue of fair lending. Large penalties and burdensome enforcement actions are the order of the day.
Occasionally evidence indicates the existence of hate-based discrimination. In most cases the evidences points to ignorance-based discrimination - the lenders truly did not understand they were violating the law; they thought they were protecting the interests of their employer. Understanding the bases of discrimination is the first step to avoiding fair lending violations.
Charges of discrimination can come from any direction. Discrimination can be obvious, subtle or unintended. Risk comes in the form of penalties, regulatory enforcement actions, civil liability, or damage to a bank's reputation, to mention a few. The best defense to these threats and risks is developing and maintaining a sound fair lending compliance management system (CMS). The core of a Fair Lending CMS is a deep understanding of the basic rules regarding Fair Lending.