On June 5, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has reached a settlement with one of the nation’s ten largest Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) reporters, a for-profit mortgage lender based in New Jersey. The consent order resolves alleged violations of the HMDA, 12 U.S.C. §§ 2801–2810, and its implementing regulation, Regulation C, 12 C.F.R. pt. 1003.
According to the CFPB, between 2014 to 2017, certain loan officers employed by the lender intentionally submitted HMDA data to the Bureau that contained inaccurate race, ethnicity, and sex information. The CFPB also alleged that the loan officers manipulated the company’s electronic system-of-record for the purpose of misrepresenting data, such as reporting applicants as non-Hispanic white even when the applicant stated they were not white.
Under the terms of the consent order, the lender must pay a civil money penalty of $1.75 million, develop and implement a compliance plan to prevent future violations of the HMDA, report any developments that may affect its compliance obligations, and undergo ongoing monitoring.