On June 29th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a joint action against BancorpSouth Bank for discriminatory mortgage lending practices that harmed African Americans and other minorities. The complaint filed by the CFPB and DOJ alleges that BancorpSouth engaged in numerous discriminatory practices, including: Illegally redlining in Memphis; Denying certain African Americans mortgage loans more often than similarly situated non-Hispanic white applicants; Charging African-American customers for certain mortgage […]
Category: Fair Lending
SCOTUS DISPARATE IMPACT RULING
With rulings on Affordable Care and gay marriage attracting most of the attention, a ruling on Fair Lending almost got lost in the shuffle. On June 25 the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rendered a decision in the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs et al. vs. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. The case involved the disparate impact theory of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The issue to be decided was whether […]
DISABILITIES DISCRIMINATION CASE
Recently the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it has entered into an Initial Decision and Consent Order with American Bank, resolving HUD’s charge that the Rockville, Maryland-based lender discriminated against applicants with disabilities when it allegedly required applicants to provide documentation regarding their disabilities and attempted to obtain information about the nature and extent of those disabilities. Cases similar to this are being common. HUD charged the lender with unlawful […]
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS
Are we in a time warp? Are we back in the 80’s? On September 15, 2014 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a settlement agreement with U.S. Bank National Association, U.S. Bank subsidiary Red Sky Risk Services, LLC (formerly known as USB Lending Support Services, LLC), and one of U.S. Bank’s loan officers, resolving allegations that they refused to refinance the mortgage of a Native American couple in Belcourt, North Dakota, because […]
A DIFFERNT KIND OF FAIR LENDING LAWSUIT
Recently the City of Providence, Rhode Island filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Santander Bank, N.A. has discriminated against Providence’s minority communities by refusing to make prime mortgage loans available in minority neighborhoods as required under the Fair Housing Act. Providence is seeking millions in damages from Santander, Mayor Angel Taveras said, and hopes that federal regulators open investigations into potential redlining. Santander denied the allegations. Santander is owned by Spanish banking giant, Banco Santander […]