The Bureau has released its fifth Fair Lending Report. The CFBP reports that, during 2016:

• To protect consumers and better understand issues facing lenders, the Bureau engaged in significant outreach with industry, civil rights advocates, consumer groups, and other stakeholders to ensure a diverse set of viewpoints are incorporated into our work
• The CFPB protected consumers by working with other government regulators and agencies to ensure companies reimbursed harmed consumers and put tools and processes in place to protect consumers
• The Bureau encouraged lenders to find ways to expand access to credit in responsible ways, including to consumers with limited proficiency in English

In 2017, the CFPB plans identify areas of new and emerging fair lending risks, and monitor institutions for:

• Redlining: We will work to evaluate whether lenders have intentionally discouraged prospective applicants in minority neighborhoods.
• Mortgage and student loan servicing: We will determine whether some borrowers who are behind on their mortgage or student loan payments have more difficulty working out a new solution with the servicer because of their race, ethnicity, age, or gender.
• Small business lending: In establishing the CFPB, Congress expressed concern that women-owned and minority-owned businesses may experience discrimination when they apply for credit, and has required the CFPB to take steps in ensuring their fair access to credit. Because small businesses are the backbone of our economy, we are focusing on how to make sure small business owners, including women-owned and minority-owned businesses, can better access lending.

The report is available at:  https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/201704_cfpb_Fair_Lending_Report.pdf.