Four black homeowners sued Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday, accusing the largest U.S. mortgage lender of racial discrimination in its lending practices, Reuters reports.
In a lawsuit seeking class-action status, the Massachusetts homeowners accused Countrywide and several affiliates of marking up interest rates or tacking on fees after agreeing to lend based on objective criteria such as credit histories or home values.
Such actions, the plaintiffs alleged, have in practice subjected black applicants to “a significantly higher likelihood of exposure to discretionary points, fees and interest mark-ups.” This violates the federal Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act, according to the complaint.
Countrywide, which makes roughly one in six U.S. home loans, said in a statement that it has not reviewed the lawsuits, and does not tolerate discriminatory lending.
