Another
large mortgage lending company is on the hook for discriminatory policies and
practices. Last week, the U.S.
Department of Justice announced that SunTrust Mortgage
Inc. has entered into a $21 million settlement to resolve accusations of
lending discrimination. Our Oak Park and River Forest foreclosure
defense attorneys know that many occurrences of mortgage fraud and abuse
occurred before and after the burst of the housing bubble. The Justice Department’s lawsuit alleges that
SunTrust Mortgage Inc. charged minority borrowers higher fees based on their
race or national origin between 2005 and 2009.
Specifically, the government alleged that SunTrust engaged in a pattern
of discrimination against African American and Hispanic applicants that
increased loan prices for many of those qualified borrowers.
The Problem
SunTrust
Mortgage Inc. is the mortgage-lending
subsidiary of one of the country’s largest commercial banks. The Department of Justice investigated the
company for over two years, including reviewing SunTrust Mortgage Inc.’s internal data and reports. According to the lawsuit, the
subsidiary engaged in discriminatory lending practices from 2005 to 2009. However, at some point around 2009, the
company implemented new policies to prevent discrimination. Thus, a condition of the $21 settlement
requires the company to continue using the policies it adopted to prevent
discriminatory lending. The Department
of Justice stated that SunTrust
Mortgage Inc. cooperated fully with the government’s investigation.
A judge
must approve the SunTrust Mortgage Inc. settlement before it becomes
effective. The settlement was filed in
federal court in Richmond, Virginia, which is where the subsidiary has its
headquarters.
Bad Bank Behavior
This is
not the first time a big mortgage lender has been accused of racial
discrimination. At then end of last
year, Bank of America entered into the largest
residential fair-lending settlement in history. The company paid $335 million to settle
allegations that its Countrywide Financial unit discriminated against minority
borrowers. In that case, Countrywide charged minorities more, on average,
than non-minority applicants with similar credit histories.
To read more about that settlement and discriminatory lending practices,
please click here.
It is
not surprising for those of us working in
Oak Park and River
Forest mortgage foreclosure that another big mortgage lender is being held
responsible for its questionable lending practices and policies. We can only hope that those responsible for
contributing to the downturn of the housing market will continue to be held
accountable.
While
such settlements are important, we also realize that many struggling
Chicagoland homeowners may feel these settlements do not have much of an impact
on their everyday lives. That is why
learning about the legal options available to you in your individual
circumstances can be so crucial. If you
believe you were a victim of lending discrimination or if you are concerned
about the possibility of foreclosure, please know that you do not have to
handle the burden alone. At the Emerson Law
Firm, we feel you should at least have the chance to tell your story. That is why we offer confidential
consultations so that you can learn about the many protections that are available
to help struggling homeowners.
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