Lending institutions play a unique and vital role in helping consumers and businesses recover from heavy economic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses are affected by the pandemic in differing ways: for some it means a slight reprieve in activity and possible opportunity to implement system improvements. For lenders, however, it often necessitates rapidly processing [...]
The current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed American society. The tragic loss of life and unparalleled social and economic disruption make it difficult to imagine any community and industry that will not face long-term effects. More than a decade removed from the housing crisis and the resulting Great Recession, banks once [...]
Banking regulators are temporarily reducing their examination schedules. At first glance, this reduction may seem to indicate that it is appropriate to ditch your compliance hat until the current quarantine period is behind us. Hold on to that hat though – while the examination schedule is delayed, regulatory requirements continue, and this new environment [...]
On March 29, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released the Modified Loan Application Registers (LARs) reflecting 2018 mortgage lending activity reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). These reports represent the first release of HMDA data under the new rule implemented in 2015. Starting in 2018, under the 2015 HMDA Rule, financial [...]
Liberty Bank, based in Middletown, CT, has agreed to invest millions to make banking services and loans more available to people of color after settling a lawsuit that alleged the Middletown-based company was discriminating against minorities. The agreement comes after the Connecticut Fair Housing Center and the National Consumer Law Center last fall filed a lawsuit [...]
In May 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with KleinBank regarding a Redlining-related lawsuit filed by the DOJ against the bank in January 2017. In the lawsuit, the DOJ alleged the bank “engaged in unlawful redlining of majority-minority neighborhoods in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area” from 2010 through 2015. The DOJ found [...]
Download This Article While banks have operated under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for 40 years, the range of CRA Services they provide to meet the Service Test has grown. Over this period, banks have responded in many creative and impactful ways to meet the needs of their communities, particularly in services. The Service Test [...]
Banks have operated under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) for 31 years. The CRA requires banks to help meet the needs of low- and moderate-income (LMI) persons and distressed geographies through lending, investment, and service. Over this period, banks have responded in many creative and impactful ways to the needs of their communities, particularly in [...]
On March 28, 2017, Wells Fargo & Co announced (Bloomberg, March 28, 2017) that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) downgraded the firm in its assessment of the firm’s performance under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Under CRA, depository institutions are evaluated to determine their responsiveness in meeting the needs of low- [...]
An article published by the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) on June 1, 2016 highlights a post-housing crisis trend towards jumbo mortgages within the mortgage market. The authors note that jumbo mortgages - home loans for amounts above $417,000 for most markets - allow lenders to satisfy one post-crisis mandate to take fewer risks within their portfolios, [...]
