Massachusetts: Halt Mortgage Lending Bias

The Massachusetts Division of Banks has issued a regulatory bulletin under the Massachusetts Fair Lending Policy that focuses on the need for licensed mortgage lenders to detect and eliminate discrimination in the residential mortgage lending process, according to the Washington law firm Lotstein Buckman LLP.The division has developed examination procedures that it expects licensees to incorporate in order to make fair lending a goal in their loan policies. It suggests regular staff training and the review of compensation structures to ensure that they do not encourage disparate treatment of loan applicants. The division also suggests the establishment of a clear written policy that outlines the loan pricing process, regular review of marketing strategies, comparison of denied applications with approved applications to determine whether compensating factors were applied fairly and consistently, and the creation of a comprehensive audit and oversight system.