Bryce Stephens, Ph.D.

Bryce Stephens has more than 17 years of experience in economic consulting, with extensive expertise in compliance with various consumer financial protection laws and regulations, including the Equal Credit and Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), the Dodd-Frank Act's prohibition of Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices ("UDAAP"), the Federal Trade Commission Act's prohibition of Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices ("UDAP") and the Fair Housing Act ("FHA").

Dr. Stephens’ experience in fair lending and fair housing includes but is not limited to supporting government investigations; advising lenders on regulatory expectations; briefing on policy developments; conducting statistical analysis to identify potential fair lending and fair housing risks and violations; supporting clients under investigation; responding to regulatory in-reach; and serving as an expert in preparation for litigation.

Prior to his career in consulting, Dr. Stephens served as a Section Chief in the Office of Research at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). His team conducted fair lending analysis of consumer loan products in the context of supervisory examinations and enforcement actions. He advised on the technical aspects and strategic direction of fair lending-related rulemakings and policy initiatives, including the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”), small business lending data collection (as required by Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act) and the CFPB’s efforts to curb the practice of dealer markup in auto lending. He also served as a subject matter expert on technical and compliance issues related to the use of alternative data, algorithms and machine learning models.

Dr. Stephens holds a B.S. in Business and Economics magna cum laude and an M.A. in Economics from Miami University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park.