CFPB Expands UDAAP Manual to Examine Institutions for “Unfair” Discrimination

In an extraordinary announcement on March 16, 2022, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) unveiled a broad expansion of its supervisory procedures to include examining supervised entities for discriminatory conduct that the agency alleges could constitute unfair practices in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act. Going forward, it appears that every exam for unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (“UDAAP”) is likely to include an assessment of a company’s antidiscrimination programs as applied to all aspects of all consumer financial products or services, regardless of whether that company extends any credit or would otherwise be subject to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). In recent months, the Bureau has been laser focused on issues of fair lending and racial equity in the consumer credit market, including redlining, pricing and algorithmic bias. With this change, the CFPB will be broadening its racial equity focus to cover every aspect of the consumer financial services sector.

Please join Ori Lev, Stephanie Robinson and Tori Shinohara as they discuss the implications of these changes and the effects they will have on the consumer financial services industry.

Link to Legal Update.