Fair Lending Groups Challenge CFPB’s Regulation B Amendments

In October 2026, the National Urban League and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s April 2026 amendments to Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). The final rule, which became effective July 21, 2026, provides that ECOA does not authorize disparate-impact liability, narrows Regulation B’s prohibition on discouraging prospective applicants, and imposes new restrictions on special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) offered by for-profit creditors.

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On October 14, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a report following its review of the nine largest US national banks to identify policies or practices that may have restricted access to financial services based on customers’ political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities. The review, conducted pursuant to Executive Order 14331, found that certain banks maintained broad reputation risk policies without clear standards or objective, risk-based criteria, resulting in limitations on services for certain individuals and businesses. Although the OCC did not conclude that these practices were necessarily unlawful, it identified potential adverse effects on customers, competition, and innovation. In response, the OCC has removed references to reputation risk from its supervisory policy issuances and will no longer examine banks for reputation risk. The agency is also considering additional rulemaking and guidance addressing potential discrimination and the risk-based application of Bank Secrecy Act requirements.

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In an October 6 speech, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman announced plans to restructure the Federal Reserve’s supervisory function from its current organization across the 12 Reserve Bank districts to a five-region system aligned with state boundaries. The restructuring is intended to simplify leadership, improve coordination, and create economies of scale in supervisory activities. The announcement follows a review of the Federal Reserve’s supervisory framework that identified challenges arising from the division of supervisory responsibilities between the board and the Reserve Banks. Under the proposed structure, regional leaders will oversee supervisory activities within their respective regions, while the Reserve Banks will continue to perform supervisory functions. The Federal Reserve has not yet provided details regarding the composition of the five regions or an implementation timeline.

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