Banking

The Federal Housing Administration also announced it would incorporate similar borrower history into its underwriting beginning at the end of October.

The online lender approved Black applicants at lower rates than non-Hispanic whites, according to a law firm that monitors its artificial intelligence models. Upstart said it's an industry leader in fair lending but acknowledged room for improvement, calling disparities "an industry-wide challenge."

BayFirst Financial Corp. said it initiated the process of shuttering its out-of-state network of residential mortgage loan production offices.

The country's largest banks should deepen partnerships with minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions, and regulators should facilitate that process.

Banks including Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have pulled back on financing for offices and other commercial real estate following a record burst of lending in the first half of this year. 

A new group called MoreThanFair aims to establish the lines between fair and unfair lending, to set best practices for the use of AI in lending and to lessen the stigma of fintech lenders.

Roughly 16% of home loan borrowers likely have education debt, less than one-third of those may be distressed, Mr. Cooper executives told investors at a conference this week.

The class-action lawsuit was brought on behalf of mortgage borrowers who were allegedly placed into forbearance during the early days of the pandemic without their consent.

The Consumer Bankers Association and the Center for Responsible Lending said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should renew its efforts to level the regulatory playing field between larger bank and nonbank companies that make installment and other kinds of personal loans.

A federal judge found last year that a credit reporting dispute did not have to be investigated because the consumer's complaint was frivolous. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission argue that the decision undermines a key purpose of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.