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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 12 / Thursday, January 21, 2021 / Notices
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unique challenges in learning about and accessing financial products and services.11 For instance, limited English proficiency can hinder consumers financial literacy and make it difficult to conduct everyday financial affairs, including understanding and completing key financial documents, managing bank accounts, resolving problems with financial products and institutions, and accessing financial education and money management tools.12 Attempts to address these challenges have led to myriad Federal and State statutes and regulations.13
Language Spoken at Home 2019, https
data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=speak%20language %20other%20than%20english&tid=ACSST1
Y2019.S1601&hidePreview=false.
11 Supra note 6; see also New York City Dept. of Consumer Aff., Lost in Translation 2019, https
www1.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/partners/
LEPDebtCollection_Report.pdf documenting greater challenges faced by LEP consumers in navigating the consumer debt collection system; Americans for Financial Reform, Barriers to Language Access in the Housing Market: Stories from the Field May 2016, https ourfinancialsecurity.org/wp-content/
uploads/2016/05/AFR_LEP_Narratives_
05.26.2016.pdf; Edward Golding, Laurie Goodman, and Sarah Strochak, Urban Institute, Is Limited English Proficiency a Barrier to Homeownership?
2018, https www.urban.org/research/
publication/limited-english-proficiency-barrierhomeownership.
12 CFPB, Spotlight on serving limited English proficient consumers: Language access in the consumer financial marketplace Nov. 2017, https www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/
research-reports/spotlight-serving-limited-englishproficient-consumers/; see also FDIC, 2013 FDIC
National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, 1617 Oct. 2014, https
www.fdic.gov/householdsurvey/2013report.pdf finding that 34.9 percent of households where Spanish is the only language spoken are unbanked, compared to just 7.1 percent of households where Spanish is not the only language spoken; U.S. Government Accountability Office, Factors Affecting the Financial Literacy of Individuals with Limited English Proficiency at Highlights, GAO10518 May 2010, http
www.gao.gov/assets/310/304561.pdf.
13 See, e.g., 12 CFR 1005.31g1i requiring disclosures in languages other than English in certain circumstances involving remittance transfers; 12 CFR 1026.24i7 addressing obligations relating to advertising and disclosures in languages other than English for closed-end credit; 12 CFR 1002.4e providing that disclosures made in languages other than English must be available in English upon request; 12 CFR
1005.18b9 requiring financial institutions to provide pre-acquisition disclosures in a foreign language if the financial institution uses that same foreign language in connection with the acquisition of a prepaid account in certain circumstances; Cal.
Civ. Code sec. 1632b as amended Sept. 25, 2020
requiring that certain agreements primarily negotiated in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean must be translated to the language of the negotiation under certain circumstances; Or. Rev. Stat. sec. 86A.198
requiring a mortgage banker, broker, or originator to provide translations of certain notices related to the mortgage transaction if the banker, broker, or originator advertises and negotiates in a language other than English under certain circumstances;
Tex. Fin. Code Ann. sec. 341.502a1 providing that for certain loan contracts negotiated in
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Over the past several years, to gain insights to inform policy decisions, the Bureau has engaged with stakeholders on fair lending compliance topics and access to credit issues. The Bureau participated in robust informationgathering activities, including meetings with consumer and civil rights advocacy organizations, other Federal agencies, policymakers, representatives from financial institutions of various sizes, and trade associations to obtain feedback on the provision of financial products and services to LEP
consumers. Bureau leadership and staff presented on LEP-related topics and gathered feedback from stakeholders at conferences and other external and internal events. In addition, the Bureau conducted research on complaints submitted to the Bureau reflecting LEP
consumers experience with financial institutions. These efforts resulted in the Bureaus November 2017 publication, Spotlight on serving limited English proficient consumers.14 In addition, the Bureaus 2016 Fall edition of Supervisory Highlights provides supervisory observations regarding financial institutions provision of nonEnglish language services to LEP
consumers.15
Since that time, the Bureau has continued its work on LEP-related issues. In the Bureaus 2019 Fair Lending Report to Congress, the Director identified that one particular fair lending issue ripe for innovative solutions is making financial products and services more accessible to consumers who are unbanked and underbanked, including those who are Limited English Proficient. 16
Spanish, a summary of the loan terms must be made available to the debtor in Spanish in a form identical to required TILA disclosures for closedend credit; 6 RCNY sections 577 imposing certain language-related requirements on debt collection entities.
14 CFPB, Spotlight on serving limited English proficient consumers: Language access in the consumer financial marketplace Nov. 2017, https www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/
research-reports/spotlight-serving-limited-englishproficient-consumers/.
15 See CFPB, Supervisory Highlights: Fall 2016, 2126 Oct. 2016, https files.consumer finance.gov/f/documents/Supervisory_Highlights_
Issue_13__Final_10.31.16.pdf; see also CFPB, ECOA
Baseline Review Module 4, 1314, 2122 Apr.
2019, https files.consumerfinance.gov/f/
documents/cfpb_supervision-and-examinationmanual_ecoa-baseline-exam-procedures_201904.pdf These modules are used by CFPB
examination teams to conduct ECOA Baseline Reviews to evaluate how an institutions CMS
identifies and manages fair lending risk under ECOA. The observations described in the referenced LEP section of Supervisory Highlights resulted from, at least in part, Bureau examiners review of financial institutions fair lending risks and controls related to servicing options for LEP consumers.
16 CFPB, Fair Lending Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection April 2020, 1,
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In July 2020, the Director held an LEP
Consumer and Industry Roundtable that convened representatives from consumer and civil rights advocacy organizations, policymakers, industry, and trade associations. The Bureau has also received input through numerous stakeholder meetings, comments to rulemakings, and various Requests for Information RFIs regarding access to credit for LEP consumers.17 Many of these responsive comments and submissions urged the Bureau to provide additional guidance to institutions seeking to expand their offering of products and services to LEP
consumers while maintaining compliance with applicable laws.18
Most recently, on August 3, 2020, the Bureau issued an RFI to identify opportunities to prevent credit discrimination, encourage responsible innovation, promote fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit, address potential regulatory uncertainty, and develop viable solutions to regulatory compliance challenges under the ECOA and Regulation B. 19 Among the requests, the Bureau sought information that would enable it to understand the challenges specific to serving LEP consumers and to find ways to encourage creditors to increase https files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/
cfpb_2019-fair-lending_report.pdf.
17 See, e.g., CFPB, Request for Information on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, 85
FR 4660046603 Aug. 3, 2020; CFPB, Request for Information to Assist the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law, 85 FR 1821418217 Apr.
1, 2020; CFPB, Request for Information Regarding the Bureaus Adopted Regulations and New Rulemaking Authorities, 83 FR 1228612289 Mar.
21, 2018.
18 See, e.g., U.S. Chamber of Com. Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, Comment Letter on Request for Information Regarding the Bureaus Inherited Regulations and Inherited Rulemaking Authorities, Docket No. CFPB20180012, 56
June 25, 2018; Mortgage Bankers Association, Comment Letter on Request for Information Regarding the Bureaus Adopted Regulations and New Rulemaking Authorities, Docket No. CFPB
20180011, 2728 June 19, 2018; Americans for Financial Reform et al., Comment to CFPBs Proposed Debt Collection Rule Sept. 18, 2019, https www.consumeradvocates.org/sites/default/
files/2019.9.18%20Debt%20Collection%20%20Language%20Access%20Comment%20Letter_
0.pdf comment of 43 consumer, civil and human rights, labor, community, housing, and legal services organizations recommending certain protections for LEP consumers in the Bureaus proposed debt collection rule.
19 CFPB, Request for Information on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, 85 FR
4660046603 Aug. 3, 2020, https
www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/08/25/
2020-18557/request-for-information-on-the-equalcredit-opportunity-act-and-regulation-b-extensionof-comment; CFPB, Request for Information on the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B;
Extension of Comment Period, 85 FR 165 Aug. 25, 2020, https beta.regulations.gov/document/CFPB2020-0026-0032.

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