In October 2026, the National Urban League and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s April 2026 amendments to Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The final rule, which became effective July 21, 2026, provides that ECOA does not authorize disparate-impact liability, narrows Regulation B’s prohibition on discouraging prospective applicants, and imposes new restrictions on special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) offered by for-profit creditors.
The complaint challenges each of these changes and contends that the CFPB acted unlawfully in adopting the rule. Among other things, the plaintiffs allege that the rule conflicts with ECOA and violates the Administrative Procedure Act, that the agency failed adequately to address comments and longstanding reliance interests, and that the CFPB’s acting director lacked authority to promulgate the rule. The complaint emphasizes the history of Regulation B, including the longstanding regulatory treatment of disparate impact and discouragement, and alleges that the amendments reverse decades of agency interpretation without sufficient legal or procedural justification. The CFPB, by contrast, concluded in the final rule that ECOA’s text does not authorize disparate-impact claims and that the amendments bring Regulation B into line with the statute.
The lawsuit places the scope of several core fair lending requirements before the courts and could have important implications for creditors’ compliance programs. Although the amended Regulation B is currently effective, the challenge creates uncertainty about whether the CFPB’s narrower interpretation of ECOA will remain in place.