CFPB Files Suit Against Mortgage Lender for Alleged Discriminatory Practices

On January 17, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a proposed consent order with an Illinois-based non-depository mortgage lender, resolving allegations that the lender violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), its implementing regulation, Regulation B, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).  In a complaint simultaneously filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois​, the CFPB alleged that the lender located all of its offices in majority-white neighborhoods, avoided marketing to majority-Black and Hispanic areas, and had an internal compliance program that was inadequate to prevent and monitor for redlining​.

​Pursuant to the ​proposed order, if gran​ted by the court,​​ the lender agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty, and to various conduct provisions, including oversight provisions applicable to its board of directors.