Facts

The United States and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau brought an action against nationwide wholesale mortgage lender Provident Funding Associates LP, claiming it engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that defendant violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act when it allowed its wholesale mortgage brokers to charge African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher broker fees for residential real estate related loans than white borrowers.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Provident asserted that it conducted its lending in compliance with the fair lending laws and in a non-discriminatory manner at all times.

Result

The court approved a consent order that included an injunction prohibiting Provident from discriminating against residential mortgagors on the basis of race or national origin in the assessment of broker fees and requiring it to remedy its alleged discrimination. Provident was ordered to pay $9,000,000 in damages for the benefit of the aggrieved borrowers.

Other Information

FILING DATE: May 28, 2015.