Banking

Companies that use artificial intelligence or machine learning in their loan decisions are legally required to provide a specific explanation when applications get denied, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a policy statement.

The bureau’s new office of competition and innovation will promote competition, host events and seek to make it easier for consumers to switch financial providers.

Martin Gruenberg, the agency' acting chair, said it will be watching commercial real estate and other assets as matters of “ongoing supervisory attention.” 

The nation's largest bank indicated Monday that it may again offer home equity lines of credit to a wide audience. Rising mortgage rates have made the product more attractive after a long drought when low rates suppressed demand.

The lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia company's CEO claims an opposing board faction lacks a quorum. Hill seeks to bar the group from reinstalling founder Harry Madonna.

A 2019 state law limits annual interest rates on many loans to 36%, but some high-cost lenders have found a way to continue operating in California by partnering with banks. Now Democratic legislators want the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to take action.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, home equity line of credit volume was up 31% from the same period the year before.

Truliant Federal Credit Union is one financial institution eager to expand online notarization. For customers, it's more about convenience than social distancing.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra is pushing the envelope of the bureau's power and jurisdiction in untested ways. More companies are disputing the CFPB’s allegations, refusing to pay large fines or admit wrongdoing, and vowing to defend themselves in court. 

Roughly 24,000 people had new foreclosures listed on their credit reports in the first quarter, up from about 9,000 three months earlier, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report says. States are trying to cushion the blow on homeowners now that many pandemic-related federal protections have ended.

Borrowers must be protected against discrimination at all steps of the credit process — including after they’ve already been granted credit, the regulator affirmed.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed more actions against redlining and discriminatory practices in 2021 and is skeptical that that predictive analytics will reduce bias.

Multiple factors have slowed residential sales, tightening the market for home loans for banks and credit unions.

Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures Management is leading a $185 million funding round for Canada’s Neo Financial Technologies, propelling it to a valuation of more than $1 billion as it plans expansion into mortgages.

Johnson, who currently heads a housing-finance industry group, will take over this summer from longtime president and CEO Richard Hunt.

During the pandemic, consumer lenders have found it easier to collect payments because the federal student loan moratorium has made many borrowers more liquid. A plan for blanket forgiveness reportedly under consideration by President Biden could sustain that trend.

Bankers object to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's request on “exploitative junk fees” that produce billions in income for financial institutions, arguing that banks are compliant with statutes that require fees be disclosed to customers.

In a recent survey, just over half of community bankers expressed concern that the central bank will harm the U.S. economy by raising rates too fast in its quest to contain inflation.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will conduct supervisory exams of nonbank fintech companies that pose risks to consumers as Director Rohit Chopra seeks to level the regulatory playing field with supervised banks.

Health care, home improvement, cannabis, gaming and college students are among the areas banks are targeting with the help of innovative tools.