George Floyd lawyer: Wells Fargo “killing Black homeowners opportunities”

Wells Fargo & Co. again facing scrutiny and demands for loan practices involving black borrowers.

Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender among U.S. banks, is currently examining a possible class action lawsuit, as well as criticism from Capitol Hill for claims that it denied blacks the possibility of owning a home.

In recent days, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump has joined a modified complaint filed Thursday in San Francisco federal court.

“We are suing Wells Faro to demand that they change their practices which are killing the opportunities of black owners!” Crump, the high-profile lawyer for the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, tweeted Thursday.

A lawsuit filed in February is based on claims by Georgia resident Chris Williams that the bank tried to charge him a higher rate than was justified by his credit score when he tried to refinance his home mortgage in 2019. other plaintiffs have been signed, with lawyers now seeking. to turn it into a collective action.

The bank denied applications from more than half of black Americans who wanted to refinance in 2020, and just under 50% the following year, according to a modified lawsuit filed by attorney Dennis Ellis. “No other major lending institution has refused to refinance the homes of black Americans at such impressive rates,” he noted.

“Our lawsuit comes after Bloomberg reports in late March,” Ellis said of the news service’s report, which showed that Wells Fargo approved only 47% of black homeowners who completed mortgage refinancing applications in 2020, compared to 72% of whites. applicants.

“The idea that we’re still talking about redlining in 2022 by a major financial institution is shocking,” Ellis told CBS MoneyWatch, a reference to a practice that in the past included the Federal Government’s refusal to Home to insure mortgages in and around black neighborhoods. .

Adding insult to injury, black applicants were disproportionately denied or delayed by Wells Fargo at a time when record low interest rates were causing borrowers to move to refinance and reduce their monthly payments. , said Ellis.

“It is significantly unfair and detrimental to our society as a whole that black Americans are not taking advantage of the low rates that will probably never be seen again, which came during the height of the pandemic,” he said. . “It affects white Americans living next door: their children can’t experience the diversity of a more mosaic environment.”

Wells Fargo dismissed the allegations in an emailed statement.

“In 2020, Wells Fargo was the largest bank lender for home mortgages to black families. This is consistent with the company’s performance over the last decade (2011-2020) in which it helped as many black families buying homes as the next three largest banks. combined lenders. Any suggestion that our home loan practices are discriminatory is of no value. “

Wells Fargo is also being called by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, with Democrats pointing to the bank’s “scam and consumer abuse history.”

This includes a $ 184 million settlement in 2012 with the Justice Department over allegations that Wells Fargo directed African-American and Hispanic borrowers to subprime mortgages.

Four years later, Wells Fargo found it even at the center of a scandal which cost him CEO your job, along with 5,000 more employees. In 2016, the bank was fined nearly $ 200 million for illegally opening millions of fake deposit and credit card accounts.

Two years later, in 2018, Wells Fargo was fined more than a billion dollars to settle federal charges for consumer abuse related to your car and mortgage business.