On December 23, 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the United States Department of Justice, on behalf of approximately 76,000 African-American and Hispanic residential mortgage borrowers, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against National City Bank, alleging that it engaged in discriminatory lending practices. In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that as a result of the defendant's policies and practices, African-American and Hispanic borrowers unfairly paid higher prices for their home mortgage loans than non-Hispanic White borrowers. The complaint asked the court for injunctive relief, rescission or reformation of contracts, and monetary damages.

Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant allowed its mortgage brokers to set wholesale loan prices unrelated to credit risk characteristics and loan terms; did not require mortgage brokers to justify or document the reasons for the amount of broker fees and prices set above the par rate; failed to monitor for disparities based on race or national original because of its policies and practices; and created a financial incentive for mortgage brokers to charge higher fees and interest rates.

The plaintiff filed a proposed consent order with the complaint that was entered by the Court (Judge Cathy Bissoon) on January 9, 2014. The Consent Order addressed National City Bank's practices between 2002 and 2008. Subsequently, PNC Bank acquired the defendant, and so the Consent Order is between PNC Bank and the plaintiffs. Per the order, the bank was to establish an interest-bearing settlement fund of $35 million "to compensate affected borrowers for monetary damages, equitable relief, and other damages that they may have suffered as a result of National City Bank's alleged violations of the ECOA and the FHA." The order also provided a process for determining who the settlement fund recipients should be and for disbursement. The order was to terminate three months after final disbursement.

On Jan. 6, 2017, the court approved disbursement of the last of the settlement fund. The case is now closed.

Megan Richardson - 02/24/2014
Virginia Weeks - 02/22/2018


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