On October 15, 2012, five Detroit residents and Michigan Legal Services sued Morgan Stanley for discriminating against African American homeowners by “providing strong incentives to a subprime lender to originate mortgages that were likely to be foreclosed on.” In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to certify a class action that could have …
DOJ Settles Discrimination Suit With Wells Fargo; Bank to Provide $175 Million in Relief
On July 12, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $175 million settlement — the second largest fair lending settlement in the department’s history — to resolve allegations that Wells Fargo Bank engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in its mortgage lending from 2004 through 2009. Under …
Consumer Group Releases New Study on Fair Lending
The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) issued a new report examining the fair housing implications of the mortgage lending crisis. The report, entitled “Why Responsible Mortgage Lending Is a Fair Housing Issue,” notes: The historic legacy of redlining contributed materially to the subprime boom and bust, as subprime lenders and brokers flooded African‐American and Latino …