source:
  type: regulation
  id: reg-b-1002.16
  authority: 12 CFR §1002.16 — Enforcement, penalties and liabilities (Regulation
    B)
  description: 12 CFR §1002.16 — Enforcement, penalties and liabilities.
  coverage_tier: context
obligations:
- id: reg-b-1002.16-full
  canonical_id: reg-b-1002.16-full
  section: 12 CFR §1002.16 — Enforcement, penalties and liabilities
  type: reference
  tags:
  - regulator-direct
  - ecoa
  - corpus-expansion
  - tier-context
  primary_source:
    tier: 1
    authority: 12 CFR §1002.16 — Enforcement, penalties and liabilities
    source_class: cfpb-regulation
    source_url: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/12/1002.16
    snapshot_id: 70b4049ebaa16b1c
    fetched_at: '2026-06-17T17:54:39Z'
    content_hash: sha256:54f1cad48c669904d8f47f6a223560ceb5c1383fd8d810e864ea09686a6f7210
    paragraph_quote: '§ 1002.16 Enforcement, penalties and liabilities. (a) Administrative
      enforcement. (1) As set forth more fully in section 704 of the Act , administrative
      enforcement of the Act and this part regarding certain creditors is assigned
      to the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
      System , Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation , National
      Credit Union Administration , Surface Transportation Board , Civil Aeronautics
      Board , Secretary of Agriculture, Farm Credit Administration , Securities and
      Exchange Commission , Small Business Administration , Secretary of Transportation,
      and Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. (2) Except to the extent that administrative
      enforcement is specifically assigned to some government agency other than the
      Bureau, and subject to subtitle B of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of
      2010 , the Federal Trade Commission is authorized to enforce the requirements
      imposed under the Act and this part. (b) Penalties and liabilities. (1) Sections
      702(g) and 706(a) and (b) of the Act provide that any creditor that fails to
      comply with a requirement imposed by the Act or this part is subject to civil
      liability for actual and punitive damages in individual or class actions. Pursuant
      to sections 702(g) and 704(b), (c), and (d) of the Act , violations of the Act
      or this part also constitute violations of other Federal laws. Liability for
      punitive damages can apply only to nongovernmental entities and is limited to
      $10,000 in individual actions and the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the
      creditor ''s net worth in class actions. Section 706(c) provides for equitable
      and declaratory relief and section 706(d) authorizes the awarding of costs and
      reasonable attorney''s fees to an aggrieved applicant in a successful action.
      (2) As provided in section 706(f) of the Act , a civil action under the Act
      or this part may be brought in the appropriate United States district court
      without regard to the amount in controversy or in any other court of competent
      jurisdiction within five years after the date of the occurrence of the violation
      , or within one year after the commencement of an administrative enforcement
      proceeding or of a civil action brought by the Attorney General of the United
      States within five years after the alleged violation . (3) If an agency responsible
      for administrative enforcement is unable to obtain compliance with the Act or
      this part, it may refer the matter to the Attorney General of the United States.
      If the Bureau, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance
      Corporation , the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System , or the
      National Credit Union Administration has reason to believe that one or more
      creditors have engaged in a pattern or practice of discouraging or denying applications
      in violation of the Act or this part, the agency shall refer the matter to the
      Attorney General. If the agency has reason to believe that one or more creditors
      violated section 701(a) of the Act , the agency may refer a matter to the Attorney
      General. (4) On referral, or whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe
      that one or more creditors have engaged in a pattern or practice in violation
      of the Act or this part, the Attorney General may bring a civil action for such
      relief as may be appropriate, including actual and punitive damages and injunctive
      relief. (5) If the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance
      Corporation , the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System , or the
      National Credit Union Administration has reason to believe (as a result of a
      consumer complaint, a consumer compliance examination, or some other basis)
      that a violation of the Act or this part has occurred which is also a violation
      of the Fair Housing Act , and the matter is not referred to the Attorney General,
      the agency shall: (i) Notify the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development;
      and (ii) Inform the applicant that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
      has been notified and that remedies may be available under the Fair Housing
      Act . (c) Failure of compliance. A creditor ''s failure to comply with § 1002.6(b)(6)
      , § 1002.9 , § 1002.10 , § 1002.12 or § 1002.13 is not a violation if it results
      from an inadvertent error . On discovering an error under §§ 1002.9 and 1002.10,
      the creditor shall correct it as soon as possible. If a creditor inadvertently
      obtains the monitoring information regarding the ethnicity, race, and sex of
      the applicant in a dwelling -related transaction not covered by § 1002.13 ,
      the creditor may retain information and act on the application without violating
      the regulation. Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 Fair Housing Act'
  judgment: false
