Racial bias

A discussion on how to modernize policies to combat housing discrimination quickly turned into a sharp critique of the social media giant's advertising practices.

Banks will likely continue to exercise caution in the wake of Facebook's announcement that it’s restricting the way providers of housing, employment and credit advertise on its site.

Minorities are still charged more for mortgages when all other applicable credit factors are equal — both in person and online, according to a new study by the University of California, Berkeley.

A new analysis of mortgage data demonstrates how default rates, not just approval and decline rates, can be used to evaluate findings of unfair treatment in lending.

Questions surrounding Eric Blankenstein, a senior CFPB official whose racially charged writings from over a decade ago have led to calls for his resignation, have been referred to the agency's watchdog.

The uproar over the incendiary writings of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau official have led to calls for his removal, but the agency’s interim chief says he won’t “let any outside group dictate who works here.”

Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney to reveal the vetting process that led to the hiring of a political appointee whose past incendiary writings have caused an uproar at the agency.

The head of the National Treasury Employees Union said the appointment of Eric Blankenstein to a senior role “reflects poorly on CFPB management.”

Eric Blankenstein, a political appointee overseeing fair-lending policy at the agency, said in an email to staff that his blog posts from 14 years ago that used a racial epithet “reflected poor judgment.”

What started as a single senior official at the CFPB voicing concerns about blog posts written 14 years ago by Eric Blankenstein, a top agency political appointee, is rapidly becoming a rising chorus of discontent.