Fair Lending Scrutiny Heats Up as DOJ Referrals Surge
Lori Sommerfield, a partner in Troutman Pepper's Consumer Financial Services Practice Group, was quoted in the July 5, 2023 Law360 article, " Fair Lending Scrutiny Heats Up as DOJ Referrals Surge."
"There is a real fair lending enforcement crackdown happening, and it's bearing out in the numbers," said Lori Sommerfield, partner in the consumer financial services practice group at Troutman Pepper. "From 2021 to 2022, that is a dramatic increase in the number of referrals to DOJ."
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"We've seen the agencies take up [fair lending] issues on their own, but not to this degree and not working so closely in concert with one another," Sommerfield said. "That's what is making this period of time unique."
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It's very impactful to financial institutions," Sommerfield said, stressing that regulated institutions should be taking steps to "ensure that their fair lending risk management programs are robust and comprehensive, and that they're doing redlining analyses as part of that."