Fair Lending Essentials

During the Biden Administration, it has become clear that enforcement of fair lending laws is a high priority. Enforcement actions are not limited to just one or two key issues; there is a broad assault on fair lending issues. Federal fair lending enforcement actions against financial institutions continue to happen and are a big risk to any financial institution, regardless of size or complexity. It often involves a financial institution’s CRA program.

Discrimination can be obvious, subtle, or unintended. Charges of discrimination can come from any direction. Risk comes in the form of penalties, regulatory enforcement actions, civil liability, or damage to a bank’s reputation. The best defense against these threats and risks is developing and maintaining a sound and fair lending compliance management system.

Over the years Fair Lending violations have led to consent decrees that include:

• Significant civil monetary penalties
• Reimbursement to borrowers
• Burdensome remedial action to prevent further violations

In redlining cases, lending policies result in a lack of lending in certain areas. The financial institutions simply fail to meet the credit needs of their selected assessment area. The examples of fair lending enforcement are vast and provide reasons why financial institutions need to go back to the basics to ensure programs cover the essential requirements needed to comply.

What You’ll Learn

• Basic fair lending concepts
  • Laws and regulations
  • Bases of discrimination
  • Types of discrimination
• How to build and maintain a fair lending compliance management system, including policies and procedures
• How to conduct a fair lending risk assessment
  • Evaluating inherent and residual risk
    • For various loan products (commercial, real estate, consumer, etc.)
    • For various aspects of the process (application, underwriting, pricing, advertising, collection)
  • Rating risk
• How to mitigate fair lending risk
  • Reviewing policies and procedures for fair lending problems and eliminating those concerns
  • Training – Who, How, When, and What
  • Monitoring/Auditing
    • Exceptions
    • HMDA data
    • Pricing
    • Marketing/Advertising

Who Should Attend
This program is designed for members of the board of directors, managers of all lending departments, bank counsel, compliance officers, loan officers, and auditors.

Presenter
Kimberly Boatwright is EVP and Director of Risk and Compliance at Compliance Resource, LLC, and has more than two decades of experience working in the financial services industry. Ms. Boatwright is a well-regarded financial industry risk and compliance professional with a strong background in program development and implementation. She is a thought leader who specializes in Fair Lending, Anti-Money Laundering, OFAC, and consumer compliance. During her career, she has worked for and consulted with all types of financial institutions helping to establish and evolve compliance and risk programs. She is a frequent public speaker, trainer, and author on compliance and risk management topics. Kimberly is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

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