Wells Fargo to Pay $175 Million in Fair Lending Settlement - East Idaho News
Business & Money

Wells Fargo to Pay $175 Million in Fair Lending Settlement

  Published at

Getty 101711 WellsFargo?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1342110342974Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Wells Fargo must pay at least $175 million to settle charges that it violated fair lending laws. The bank is accused of discriminating against qualified black and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009.

“Systematic discrimination was discovered in Wells Fargo’s lending practices,” Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in announcing the news Thursday. “This resulted in more than 34,000 African American and Hispanic wholesale borrowers paying an increased rate for loans, simply due to the color of their skin.”

“This settlement constitutes the second largest fair lending settlement ever reached by the department,” Cole said. “The department’s action makes clear we will hold financial institutions accountable, including some of the nation’s largest for lending discrimination.”

“Put simply,” Cole said, “there is no place for discriminatory lending in the marketplace, and it will not be tolerated by this Department of Justice.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION