CFPB's Patrice Ficklin To Leave For Fannie Mae

Patrice Ficklin, who has led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's fair lending office since its inception in 2011, is departing the agency to rejoin Fannie Mae.

As the founding director, Ficklin established the CFPB's Office of Fair Lending & Equal Opportunity, overseeing the enforcement of fair lending laws. She coordinated efforts with the Department of Justice to combat redlining and introduced rules to mitigate racial bias in home valuations. Ficklin has been the CFPB's only fair lending director through seven acting and permanent directors.

During her leadership, the CFPB undertook significant fair lending enforcement actions across various consumer finance sectors, imposing millions in penalties. Last year, the CFPB fined Citibank $26 million for "intentional, illegal discrimination" against Armenian Americans applying for credit cards. The bureau also acted against Bank of America and Freedom Mortgage for submitting false, erroneous, or incorrect data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

“Patrice's leadership has shaped the CFPB's fair lending program from the agency's beginning. I'm grateful for everything she has done to fight discrimination and make our markets fairer," said CFPB director Rohit Chopra in an email to NMP. 

Previously, Ficklin served as Fannie Mae's associate general counsel for nearly twelve years. She will now return to Fannie Mae as its new fair lending officer. Before her tenure at the CFPB, she was an attorney at Relman, Dane & Colfax PLCC.