CFPB Drops Appeal Over Biden-Era Policy on ‘Unfair’ Practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a deal with banks that sued the agency, agreed to eliminate a Biden-era update to its examination manual that would’ve allowed the watchdog to police discriminatory conduct as an “unfair” practice.

The US Chamber of Commerce, the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and other plaintiffs on Wednesday filed a joint stipulation to dismiss the CFPB’s appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit of a lower court ruling against the exam manual update.

The agreement means the CFPB’s March 2022 message to supervisors to consider discriminatory lending and other ...