Fair Lending: 101 – ON-DEMAND WEBINARS

Recorded: November 22, 2021

Presented by: Ms. Leah Hamilton, VP and Senior Consultant, FORVIS

Fair lending issues arise in both lending and deposit areas. This two-hour webinar will highlight fair lending essentials, including real examples, and where you should be monitoring for potential concerns.

Fair Lending and Fair and Responsible Banking are top priorities for both federal and state regulators as discrimination in lending is prohibited on certain bases including race, color, religion, national origin to name but a few – and let’s not miss the impact of the expansion of gender. Additionally, many states are adding more protected classes such as military/veterans and domestic violence victims. Moreover, fair lending is not limited to the application process – discrimination can occur at any point in the lending process – from product development through application through servicing, and even through the pay-off process.

Although fair lending is a relatively straightforward concept, employees may discriminate without intending to do so in a number of ways – and it is not limited to just lending staff. For example, the waiving of overdraft fees can impact fair lending analysis. Financial institutions therefore are encouraged to be mindful about the potential ways discrimination can occur and train staff to spot the red flags.

The Fair Lending: 101 webinar will focus on the essentials of fair lending, including the basic requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (as implemented by Regulation B) and the Federal Housing Act as well as touch on other rules that impact fair lending. In addition, we will provide real and practical examples drawn from examinations and audits throughout the lending process.

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:

• Fair Lending Essentials
• What is fair?
• Prohibited bases
• Regulation B (ECOA)
• Fair Housing Act (FHAct)
• Types of discrimination
• When / where discrimination can occur
• Potential discrimination in the initial application process, during underwriting (procedures, approvals/denials, terms), and servicing
• Importance of understanding the risk in providing exceptions or considering compensating factors
• Key points and best practices
• Variety of recent fair lending examples and violations