News
CFPB Takes Action Against Fifth Third Bank for Auto-Lending Discrimination and Illegal Credit Card Practices
Company to Pay $18 Million to Minority Auto Borrowers, $3 Million to Credit Card Customers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced two separate actions against Fifth Third Bank, for discriminatory auto loan pricing and for illegal credit card practices. The joint CFPB and Department of Justice (DOJ) auto-lending enforcement action requires Fifth Third to change its pricing and compensation system to minimize the risks of discrimination, and to pay $18 million to harmed African-American and Hispanic borrowers. The CFPB's action against Fifth Third's deceptive marketing of credit card add-on products requires the bank to provide an estimated $3 million in relief to eligible harmed consumers and pay a $500,000 penalty.
| Institution | Regulator(s) | Violation | Penalty | Period covered | HMDA/fair-lending data field involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fifth Third Bank | CFPB, DOJ | Discriminatory auto loan pricing — violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by charging African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher dealer markups than non-Hispanic white borrowers, without regard to creditworthiness | $18 million to harmed African-American and Hispanic borrowers ($12 million into a settlement fund, plus credit of $5–$6 million for remediation already provided, with any additional funds paid in to reach $18 million total); no penalty assessed for this action | January 2010 through September 2015 | Dealer markup on auto loan interest rate (race and national origin) |
| Fifth Third Bank | CFPB | Deceptive marketing and sales of "Debt Protection" credit card add-on product, in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act | $3 million in relief to roughly 24,500 customers, plus a $500,000 penalty to the CFPB civil penalty fund | 2007 through February 2013 (fulfillment kit misrepresentations from December 2011 through September 2012) | — |
Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Reach Settlement with Hudson City Savings Bank to Resolve Allegations of Mortgage Lending
Settlement Provides Over $27 Million to Ensure Equal Lending Services to Predominantly Black and Hispanic Communities
The Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a consent order today to resolve allegations that Hudson City Savings Bank (Hudson City) engaged in a pattern or practice of "redlining" predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in its residential mortgage lending practices. "Redlining" is the discriminatory practice by banks or other financial institutions to deny or avoid providing credit services to a consumer because of the racial demographics of the neighborhood in which the consumer lives. This resolution represents the Justice Department's largest residential mortgage redlining settlement in its history.
| Institution | Regulator(s) | Violation | Penalty | Period covered | HMDA/fair-lending data field involved |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson City Savings Bank | Justice Department; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) | Redlining predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in residential mortgage lending, in violation of the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) | $25 million loan subsidy fund; $2.25 million for advertising, outreach, financial education, and community partnership efforts; two new full-service branches; $5.5 million civil monetary penalty (total over $27 million) | At least 2009 to 2013 | — |
HMDA data shows more people took out a mortgage to purchase a home in 2014 than 2013
Today, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) published the 2014 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data showing that more people took out a mortgage to purchase a home in 2014 than in 2013 and that fewer people refinanced their mortgages. As part of our work to educate consumers to make informed financial decisions, we at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – along with the other members of the FFIEC – are committed to making HMDA data clear and available to you. The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act helps protect consumers by providing public data about the mortgage market. Consumers, public officials, community groups, researchers, developers, journalists, and mortgage professionals can use these data to better understand mortgage trends at a…
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Announces Availability of 2014 Data on Mortgage Lending
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today announced the availability of data on mortgage lending transactions at 7,062 U.S. financial institutions covered by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Covered institutions include banks, savings associations, credit unions, and mortgage companies. The HMDA data made available today cover 2014 lending activity, and include applications, originations, purchases and sales of loans, denials, and other actions related to applications. The data released today also include disclosure statements for each financial institution, aggregate data for each metropolitan statistical area (MSA), nationwide summary statistics on lending patterns, and Loan/Application Registers (LARs) for each financial institution (LARs are modified…
Federal Financial Institutions Regulatory Agencies Announce Availability of 2014 Small Business, Small Farm, and Community Development Lending Data
The three federal banking agency members of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) with Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) responsibilities—the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency—announced today the availability of data on small business, small farm, and community development lending reported by certain commercial banks and savings associations, pursuant to the CRA. An FFIEC disclosure statement on the reported 2014 CRA data, in electronic form, is available for each reporting commercial bank and savings association. The FFIEC also has prepared aggregate disclosure statements of small business and small farm lending for all of the metropolitan…
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