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 a 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 on December 23, 2013 that was entered by the Court (Judge Cathy Bissoon) on January 9, 2014. Several African-American and Hispanic residential mortgage borrowers filed a motion to intervene that is currently pending as of February 24, 2014.

Megan Richardson - 02/24/2014


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