Fair Lending Marketing for Mortgage Lenders

SERVICES FOR MORTGAGE LENDERS

Fair Lending Examiners Take Marketing Very Seriously — Do You?

You need marketing program that demonstrates fair lending compliance, but you don’t know where to start. No problem. That’s what we do.

It’s a different picture when regulators are involved. When examiners are evaluating your marketing efforts, you need to be able to answer for each action. Haphazard, reactive campaigns won’t stand up to examination. Only solid strategies and hard data suffice.

When we work with you, we’ll start by evaluating your current business situation and identifying marketing weaknesses and opportunities, always factoring in the data, and specifically through the lens of fair lending. We’ll then conceptualize programs across the appropriate marketing channels for each segment, of course, based on demographic and other relevant information, and guide each campaign’s implementation.

FAIR LENDING COMPLIANCE MARKETING

What is it?

A marketing program that’s added to your existing marketing efforts, to decisively attract and entice people from protected groups to do business with your company.

What are the benefits?

A formal fair lending marketing strategy shows examiners that a lender’s marketing activities intentionally align with fair lending guidelines and regulations.

Inclusive marketing, which is the broader category of these efforts, has been proven to deliver strong ROI, improve recruiting efforts, elevate brand image, and boost employee morale.

Fair Lending Violations Can Cost Companies Millions

Fair lending violations can cost mortgage lenders millions — your marketing program is a key component in that outcome.

In October 2021, the U.S. Justice Department launched the Combatting Redlining Initiative, along with the promise of “far more robust use” of its fair lending authorities, and the vow to “spare no resource” to vigorously enforce the laws.

By July 2022, the DOJ and CFPB ordered Trident Mortgage to pay over $22 million to settle redlining allegations, marking the second largest redlining settlement in DOJ history and the first against a non-bank lender.

To date, the department has announced six redlining cases and settlements and secured $84 million in relief.

Protection Requires More than Just Adding “Diverse” People in Ads

Examiners evaluate a mortgage lender’s entire marketing strategy, and all its activities.

Some companies believe simply including non-White people in ad campaigns is the answer. This is not only incorrect, it can backfire and cause the opposite impact.

Some of the factors examiners evaluate can include the languages available to consumers, vernacular presented in messaging, the choice of marketing channels and advertising methods, as well as the images and wording used in direct mail, e-mail, social media, digital media, and telemarketing.

It’s important to choose a marketer who incorporates social-cultural factors in marketing and communication strategies.

Fair Lending Marketing Programs Pay Off

Yosh Communications provides fair lending marketing strategies and programs that boost ROI by:

Helping to prevent redlining allegations and their multi-million dollar settlements
Attracting new customers
Cultivating loyal, long-term relationships with customers
Elevating brand value
Boosting employee engagement
Attracting higher quality employees

We offer marketing strategy development, implementation, and ongoing management. Our services are flexible, so we can train and work with your staff as much, as little or as often as you need.