Countrywide Financial, which is owned by Bank Of America will have to pay $335 million to more than 200,000 people who were discriminate against due to their race.
The Department Of Justice found that Countrywide Financial charged African Americans and Hispanics higher interest rates and steered them towards risky and expensive subprime mortgages between 2004 and 2008.
MSNBC reports:
“In today’s settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation, we resolved the government’s allegations that Countrywide and its subsidiaries – which are now owned by Bank of America – engaged in discriminatory mortgage lending practices against more than 200,000 qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers from 2004 through 2008,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Holder said that the investigation found a widespread pattern of discrimination against more than 200,000 people in more than 180 geographic markets across 41 states and the District of Columbia.
“These allegations represent alarming conduct – by one of the largest mortgage lenders in this country, during the height of the housing market boom,” he added.