Discriminatory practices in the financial services industry have long been regulated by governmental entities tasked with promoting fair lending and ensuring equal opportunity regardless of race and gender. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, Congress enacted legislative initiatives aimed at guaranteeing non-discriminatory access to credit and housing as part of the Civil Rights movement. Specifically, two principal federal laws and corresponding regulations currently govern fair lending practices in the United States: (1) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B (15 U.S.C. § 1691 and 12 C.F.R. Part 1002), and (2) the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the applicable United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regulations (42 U.S.C. § 3605 and 24 C.F.R. Part 100). This Article offers a comprehensive overview of fair lending legislation and analyzes the future of disparate impact under the FHA and ECOA.
Read the complete article, "Fair Lending Law Litigation and Compliance: An Uncertain Future for the Financial Services Industry," which was first published in Mortgage Compliance Magazine in May 2015, Volume 3, Issue 5.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
