Sunday, June 07, 2009

Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks - NYTimes.com

Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks - NYTimes.com: "As she describes it, Beth Jacobson and her fellow loan officers at Wells Fargo Bank “rode the stagecoach from hell” for a decade, systematically singling out blacks in Baltimore and suburban Maryland for high-interest subprime mortgages."
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for tipping me off to this. It seems that a lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo alleging that they were steering black applicants into subprime loans, when they could have qualified for conventional loans. This is in litigation, so it is yet to be determined whether these charges are true.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So does the loan application have a check box for race? If not, where's the smoking gun?

Evan McKenzie said...

Yes. The federal government collects data on the race of home buyers.

Anonymous said...

Why not a color blind loan app?

Anonymous said...

I BELIEVE EVERY WORD OF THIS!! Wait till you see. In my opinion, not just African Americans, though. Disabled, populations on fixed incomes. Look at certain areas/counties in the northeast! Especially, after 9/11. Follow the actions of some of the lenders, HOA's/CID's, banks. It is absolutely horrible what people were sold, how they were sold into it and how they have ended up homeless. These are not speculators, but trusting homebuyers seeking a better/safer life for their families. There are a few foreclosure studies "out there." Pennsylvania has done a few and I suggest everyone read the Monroe Foreclosure Study. It is online many places. Better yet, contact Rep.Paul Kanjorski's office, or Senator Robert Casey's office and have these elected officials explain what took place and what they are doing now, to help these people.
A recent favorable ruling in Al Wilson's case, Pocono Homeowners Defense Association, is a start!

Anonymous said...

One papers report on the Al Wilson proposed settlement case:
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090210/NEWS/902100326

But, a later story says differently:
Poconos fraud case update: Tunkhannock man's suit against Brodheadsville builder may head to court after failed deal
Submitted by CSchnack on Wed, 03/04/2009 - 13:54


http://www.hadd.com/node/545