Bank of America Hit with $12 Million Fine for False Mortgage Data Reporting

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Bank of America to pay a $12 million penalty for submitting false mortgage lending information to the federal government. Bank of America loan officers failed to ask certain demographic questions required by law and falsely reported that applicants had chosen not to respond. This violation of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and its implementing regulation, Regulation C, is not the first time Bank of America has faced penalties from the CFPB for violating federal law. The bank must now take steps to rectify its illegal reporting practices and pay the penalty into the CFPB's victims relief fund.