The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has signaled it will investigate whether major bank Wells Fargo violated fair lending laws by favoring Black and other minority homebuyers. The department disclosed this in a letter to CEO Charlie Scharf, the Wall Street Journal reported. The letter states that the bank classified homebuyers by race and adopted a strategy of offering different products and terms depending on race, and Secretary Turner plans a full investigation into Wells Fargo's past statements and initiatives. Authorities are also examining similar efforts by other banks. Wells Fargo has rolled out a series of measures to expand lending to minority communities, and in 2017 it announced a plan to lend 60 billion dollars to help increase the number of African American homeowners by at least 250,000 by 2027. This move could further strengthen the tightening of regulations on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in public agencies and private companies since President Trump took office.
Wells Fargo & CompanyHUD will investigate whether Wells Fargo violated fair lending laws by classifying homebuyers by race and offering different terms, signaling tighter regulatory scrutiny.
