CUNA attends Appraisal Subcommittee hearing on combating bias

CUNA Senior Director of Advocacy and Counsel Elizabeth Sullivan attended the first public hearing of Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Appraisal Subcommittee Tuesday, which focused on appraisal bias. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, and Federal Housing Finance Administration Director Sandra Thompson were also in attendance.

The hearing featured a panel of homeowners, academics, financial institutions, and other stakeholders on the effects of appraisal bias and approaches to eliminate it.

CUNA is a strong proponent of removing systemic bias in the home appraisals process, and has advocated for several methods to eliminate bias. CUNA believes home appraisal bias hinders the credit union mission to provide safe and affordable credit.

CUNA wrote to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on this topic in the last Congress, and has also noted its support for several action steps in the Biden Administration’s Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity’s action plan.