U.S. Department
of Justice
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. (N.D. Ala.)
On December 3, 2024, the court entered a consent order in United States and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation (N.D. Ala.). The complaint, which was filed on October 15, 2024, alleged that Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation (Fairway) violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, and Consumer Financial Protection Act by redlining majority-Black neighborhoods in the Birmingham, Alabama metropolitan statistical area (Birmingham MSA). Specifically, the complaint alleged that Fairway made disproportionately low numbers of home loans to applicants in majority-Black neighborhoods and concentrated its marketing efforts, referral sources, and loan production offices in majority-White neighborhoods. The consent order requires Fairway to invest at least $7 million in a loan subsidy fund for residents of majority-Black neighborhoods in the Birmingham MSA; spend $500,000 in advertising and outreach, $250,000 on consumer financial education, and $250,000 on community partnerships to provide services that increase access to residential mortgage credit in those neighborhoods; and open a new physical location in a majority-Black neighborhood in the Birmingham MSA. Fairway will also pay a civil money penalty of $1.9 million.