Newsroom

July 01, 2015

Report: CFPB close to citing 3 indirect auto lenders for discrimination

American Banker reported Wednesday that CFPB is close to finalizing consent orders against three of the nation's largest indirect auto lenders for disparate-impact discrimination.

The proposed orders cite American Honda Finance Corp., Toyota Motor Credit Corp. and Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. The three would be required to pay remuneration to minorities who were unintentionally discriminated against by dealers through discretionary loan mark-ups, the report says.

According to American Banker, Honda, Toyota and Nissan would reduce their dealer pricing discretion by as much as half and pay millions of dollars in redress to consumers. It says CFPB claims that Honda charged higher interest rates to an estimated 164,641 African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian and/or Pacific Islander borrowers than they charged white borrowers from January 2011 through December 2013.

Honda reportedly faces a settlement of $24 million. The other two settlements are said to range perhaps from $14 million to $102 million for Toyota and $8 million to $75 million for Nissan, based on initial recommendations from the CFPB staff last November.

While NAFCU steadfastly supports the enforcement of fair lending laws, it has raised concerns about litigation that relies solely on the use of the disparate-impact theory of discrimination.