Anti-Discrimination Enforcement
Reflecting one of its new director’s top priorities as well as that of the Biden Administration, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection has significantly revised its examination manual when it comes to behavior that might be viewed as discriminatory in a wide range of consumer-financial products, services, underwriting, advertising, marketing, governance, and other arenas. Because the new approach is both sweeping and imprecise, different examiners and/or different CFPB offices may reach different interpretations of data and company attributes as indications of discrimination. The Bureau has thus put the entire sector on notice that anything that might have even the appearance of overt discrimination, discriminatory treatment, or disparate impact could result in CFPB sanction.