On August 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) announced a partnership aimed at tackling appraisal bias and discrimination in the housing market. The said collaboration, which is set to launch in the coming months, will increase education, outreach, and efforts to combat racial appraisal bias in home property valuation.

In July 2023, the CFPB released the Summer 2023 Edition of its Supervisory Highlights that notes recent supervisory findings of abusive acts or practices supervised institutions engaged in across multiple product lines. The findings included in the report cover examinations in the areas of auto origination, auto servicing, consumer reporting, debt collection, deposits, fair lending, information technology, mortgage origination, mortgage servicing, payday and small dollar lending, and remittances that were completed from July 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

On July 19, 2023, the CFPB sued lease-to-own finance company Snap Finance for deceiving consumers, obscuring the terms of its financing agreements, and making false threats. According to the CFPB, Snap Finance’s practices violate the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The CFPB is seeking monetary relief for consumers, an end to Snap Finance’s illegal practices, and a civil money penalty.

VIDEO: TRID Optional Signature Line

In this Compliance Clip (video), Adam discusses the requirements for having a signature line on the LE and CD. While many financial institutions may not have thought about whether this is required or not for some time, it might be a good idea to revisit the rules to ensure things are being done correctly.

On July 19, 2023, the Federal Reserve Board issued a consent order against Deutsche Bank AG, its New York branch, and other U.S. affiliates. The consent order requires Deutsche bank to pay a $186 million fine based on unsafe and unsound practices and violations of the Board's 2015 and 2017 consent orders with Deutsche Bank relating to sanctions compliance and anti-money laundering controls. 

On July 13, 2023, the CFPB joined with several state attorneys general and a state regulator to take action against Prehired for deceptive marketing and debt collection practices. The attorneys general from Washington, Oregon, Delaware, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia joined the action, along with California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

On July 13, 2023, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen announced the appointment of Andrea Gacki as the Director of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Acting FinCEN Director Himamauli “Him” Das will continue in his role during the transition period and assist Gacki in her onboarding process.

On July 12, 2023, the CFPB joined the State of Maine to help ensure that consumers receive critical consumer protections when taking out loans by filing an amicus brief in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in a case involving a married couple’s loan. Maine law incorporates the federal Truth in Lending Act that provides crucial consumer protections, including requiring lenders to provide precise information about the amount of a loan, its interest rate and other costs, and when it must be repaid.