Appearing in MarketWatch on December 17, 2025, Aarthi Swaminathan interviews NCLC Senior Attorney Jeremiah Battle, Jr. for coverage of proposed changes to a rule barring banks from discriminating against certain borrowers that advocates say are ‘alarming,’ and a ‘step backwards.’
“This rule would invite discrimination to persist in the credit market and create barriers to economic stability and advancement for individuals, families and whole communities.”
Jeremiah Battle, Jr., senior attorney at the NCLC.
Battle said that if the CFPB succeeds in changing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, it will be easier for lenders to redline certain communities, or target certain communities with high-cost, predatory loans.
Redlining refers to the practice of a lender refusing to give someone a mortgage because they live in an area deemed to be risky; the practice frequently affected Black homeowners and had lasting negative effects on home values. Battle advocated for the rule to be withdrawn.
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