As you have heard by now and more than likely experienced, the African American and Hispanic community wore the brunt of the economic downturn. Not only has the properties our families had been paying on for decades lost their value, but we were getting the worst of the loans on the front end.

Chevy Chase Bank F.S.B. reached a settlement agreement with the Justice Department over their pattern and practice of discrimination against qualified African American and Hispanic borrowers. This was surrounding their home mortgage lending practices from 2006 and 2009.

In cases like this, I always wonder if they settled for $2.85 million dollars, then just how much money did they make off with?

In short, The Chevy Chase Bank charged higher prices on mortgage loans made to African American and Hispanic borrowers. This violates the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).

From Loan Safe: “This settlement ensures that African-American and Hispanic borrowers who paid more for their mortgages as a result of Chevy Chase Bank’s actions will be properly compensated,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We commend Capital One for working cooperatively with the Justice Department to reach this agreement.”

The lawsuit originated from a 2010 referral by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

“Every loan applicant should be evaluated on objective factors, and not on the basis of the color of their skin, so we are pleased that these illegal loan pricing practices are being remedied,” said Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry. “The OCC is committed to continuing to work with the Department of Justice and our other federal partners on an interagency basis to ensure fair treatment for everyone in the credit markets.”

Under the proposed settlement, Capital One will pay $2.85 million to approximately 3,100 African-American and Hispanic victims of discrimination.  The settlement requires borrowers who are eligible for compensation to be notified and provides for monitoring of the compensation process by the department.

“Our office stands committed to ensuring justice and compensation to those who are victims of unfair lending practices,” said Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.  “Through our partnership with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and our membership on the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, we remain steadfastly committed to engaging in this important work.”

 Why Won’t We Bank With Our Own?

It is situations like this, which we all knows happens far more often than not, that make me think why don’t we bank with ourselves? Let us tell it, there are not black owned bank in this country, but there is. We just don’t seem to think it is a good idea to put our trillion dollars in spending power into the same banking institutions that could fund our own businesses and real estate purchases.

Something to think about, black community.

Source: http://www.loansafe.org/chevy-chase-bank-agrees-to-pay-2-85m-to-african-american-and-hispanic-discrimination-victims