HUD Settlement Resolves Fair Housing Act Allegations

HUD Fair Housing Discrimination

On November 5, HUD released a Conciliation Agreement with a lender alleged to have discriminated against African-American and Hispanic borrowers seeking mortgage loans. In an administrative complaint filed following a review of the lender’s internal loan data, HUD claimed that the lender’s wholesale lending program violated the Fair Housing Act by underwriting, approving, purchasing, and securitizing mortgage loans in a manner that allowed pricing and denial disparities on the basis of race and national origin. HUD stated that the lender’s wholesale business, which granted third-party brokers discretion to negotiate fees and compensated those brokers through direct fees paid by borrowers to brokers, and/or through yield spread premiums paid by the lender, allegedly resulted in African-American and Hispanic borrowers paying higher APRs, receiving higher-priced loans, and paying more fees than similarly situated white borrows. HUD also alleged that African-American and Hispanic applicants were more likely to have their loan applications denied. HUD did not allege any intentional discrimination, and instead based its claims on its finding that statistical dipartites existed. To resolve the HUD investigation and complaint without litigation, and without admitting the allegations, the lender agreed to establish a $12.1 million fund to compensate allegedly harmed consumers and to distribute any excess funds to housing advocacy and counseling groups.