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The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. said CFPB has alleged that the large auto lender violated U.S. fair lending laws.

The Journal said that according to a recent regulatory filing by Santander Consumer USA, CFPB informed the lender in July that it had notified the Justice Department of instances where it found the company overcharged "protected groups" of consumers on auto loans made through car dealerships.

This would be the latest action by CFPB against an auto lender that has allegedly violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Last month, the bureau resolved its settlement against American Honda Finance Corp. The settlement order will require Honda to reduce dealer markups and pay $24 million in damages for discriminatory loan practices.

CFPB's actions on this front stem from a 2013 bulletin announcing that indirect lenders, including nonbanks as well as all depository institutions under CFPB jurisdiction, would be held liable for disparate-impact discrimination under the act.

NAFCU steadfastly supports the enforcement of fair lending laws but it has raised concerns about actions that rely solely on the use of the disparate-impact theory of discrimination.

Santander Consumer USA has also been the subject of unrelated Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission investigations, the Journal said. In February, the company agreed to pay at least $9.5 million to resolve an investigation into whether it inappropriately repossessed the cars of members of the U.S. military, the Journal reported.