
Consumer Finance Monitor The CFPB's Reg B Proposal: Key Changes and Industry Impact
23 snips
Dec 11, 2025 John Culhane Jr., a senior partner advising banks and fintechs on fair lending and Reg B compliance. Richard Andreano Jr., mortgage banking leader focused on ECOA and supervisory trends. Bradley Blower, fair lending and civil rights expert advancing access for underserved communities. They dissect the CFPB’s proposed Reg B overhaul: removal of effects liability, changes to discouragement rules, tight limits on special purpose credit programs, and the rushed 30-day comment window.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Townstone Case Shaped Discouragement Concern
- Richard described the Townstone case where company heads made public statements the CFPB viewed as discouraging applicants in certain Chicago areas.
- The case led to a stipulated judgment and later drew CFPB leadership criticism as potentially constitutionally protected speech.
Discouragement Test Shifts To Creditor Knowledge
- CFPB would flip the discouragement test to focus on what the creditor knew or should have known.
- The creditor-centric test shifts liability assessment from a reasonable applicant's perception to creditor awareness.
Examples Tightened; More Permissible Speech Listed
- The proposal narrows many existing discouragement examples and adds examples of permissible speech like advising on neighborhood factors.
- This reflects CFPB concerns about chilling constitutionally protected commercial speech.
