Austin Brown

Notable Representations

• Numerous companies and individuals in investigations by the FTC relating to marketing, lending and loan servicing practices under UDAP
• An FDIC-regulated bank in successfully appealing material supervisory determinations before the FDIC's Supervision Appeals Review Committee
• A large national bank in conducting UDAAP risk assessments of all of the bank's consumer products and services
• A large national bank in defending lawsuits under the FCRA and the EFTA
• A mid-sized bank in successfully resolving a class action relating to overdraft fees
• Several banks and other financial institutions in preparing for FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Reserve Board (FRB) and CFPB examinations and responding to supervisory concerns
• A consumer lender in resolving a CFPB investigation relating to compliance with the FCRA, TILA and UDAAP
• A consumer lender in defending several class action lawsuits, attorney general investigations, and a lawsuit by the CFPB relating to UDAAP
• Two national banks in appealing supervisory determinations before the OCC Office of the Ombudsman
• BancorpSouth Bank in resolving a CFPB and DOJ fair lending investigation
• Commonwealth, Inc. in obtaining the first-ever approval under the CFPB's Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy
• A digital payment service in responding to a CFPB civil investigative demand relating to compliance with the EFTA and UDAAP
• Capital One in connection with a federal lawsuit relating to branch closures
• Mortgage lenders and auto finance companies in fair lending testing of their pricing and underwriting data
• A bank director in resolving an investigation by the OCC
• A large regional bank in connection with a CFPB redlining investigation
• A consumer reporting agency in responding to a government investigation
• A mortgage loan servicer in responding to a government investigation regarding loss mitigation practices
• A large bank in the non-public resolution of an investigation by the CFPB and the FRB relating to overdraft practices

Austin frequently speaks and writes on financial services enforcement, litigation and enforcement trends.

• "Fair Lending Lessons to Take Home," Fair Lending Colloquium, Orlando, FL, November 20, 2024
• "What's Next for the CFPB?" Women in Housing and Finance, July 24, 2024
• "UDAAP, CRA and Fair Lending," Fair Lending Colloquium, Las Vegas, NV, November 15, 2022
• "On the Fair Lending Forefront: Enforcement Trends and Emerging Risks," Wolters Kluwer CRA and Fair Lending Colloquium, November 16, 2021
• "Fair Lending Compliance and Defense Strategies: Challenges in Underwriting, Redlining, and Equitably Implementing Relief Programs," American Conference Institute, Residential Mortgage Regulatory Enforcement & Litigation Conference, November 2020
• "Emerging (and re-emerging) Fair Lending Issues in Pricing, Underwriting, Marketing and Servicing," Marquis Virtual User's Conference, September 14, 2020
• "Telling Your Story," QuestSoft Lending Compliance & Risk Management Virtual Conference, October 2020
• "Consumer Compliance Hot Topics," Skadden's 28th Annual Conference on Fair Lending and Consumer Financial Protection, Washington, DC, April 20, 2020
• "Due Process in Supervision," American Bar Association (ABA) Banking Law Committee, January 2020

• "Consumer Protection Policy and Cases To Watch In 2023," Law360, January 2, 2023
• "New UDAAP Guidance is Relevant to OCC-Regulated and Nonregulated Institutions Alike," September 25, 2020
• "Special Purpose Credit Programs – Taking a Second Look at a Familiar Tool," July 29, 2020
• "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Launches Advisory Opinion Process," June 19, 2020
• "Managing Compliance Risks for Income Share Agreements," Law360, July 2019
• "Is Your Fair Lending CMS Up-to-Date?" Mortgage Compliance Magazine, September 2017
• "CFPB Pursues Aggressive Enforcement Agenda and Arbitration Restrictions," NY Business Law Journal, Summer 2016