Kudos to Baltimore Sheila Dixon (left). When data reached the City of Baltimore that they believe showed a major finance company was targeting minority neighborhoods and creating foreclosures based on "illegal practices", they took decisive action and sued.The City and Mayor Dixon didn't just find any old company to pursue. Instead, they filed suit in U.S. District Court against Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), the $100 billion financial giant. The suit claims that Wells Fargo targeted minority neighborhoods and engaged in "predatory lending practices" including unsuitable products and terms and deceptive practices.
The result, the suit alleges, is that Wells Fargo "has one of the highest rates of foreclosure of any lender in Baltimore, and its foreclosure rate in majority African American neighborhoods is four times the rate in majority white neighborhoods, and twice the City average."
But Mayor Dixon and the government have not filed for damages alone. Instead, the suit will ask for punitive damages sufficient to cover past and future losses and enough "to deter" Wells Fargo from engaging in such behavior in the future.
Other suits from cities caught in a housing crisis caused by foreclosed mortgages are expected, including one from Cleveland versus multiple lenders.
Labels: Baltimore, discrimination, mortgage, Wells Fargo
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