The NAACP announced today that it will be ending a lawsuit against Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) which accused the San Francisco-based bank, as well as other large-cap banks, of violating the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts and racial discrimination.
“We brought these lawsuits against lenders to change and stop patterns of racial discrimination and other mortgage lending behaviors that have shattered American lives, families, and neighborhoods”
The NAACP and Wells Fargo & Co have agreed to work together to find ways on improving fair credit access, as well as developing sustainable homeownership and financial literacy for communities of color and other historically disadvantaged communities.
“We brought these lawsuits against lenders to change and stop patterns of racial discrimination and other mortgage lending behaviors that have shattered American lives, families, and neighborhoods,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “We developed the NAACP banking principles to ensure that our country moves toward higher rates of sustainable homeownership. We commend Wells Fargo for taking a leadership role by being the first to embrace our principles, and hope this effort becomes a model for collaborating with other financial institutions.”
“For generations, Wells Fargo has worked to lend responsibly to historically disadvantaged consumers and businesses,” said Jon Campbell, head of Wells Fargo’s Social Responsibility Group. “In 2004, we published our fair and responsible lending principles by which we have long operated. We view this as the next constructive step forward in realizing our vision of helping all of our customers to further business ownership and promote financial empowerment.”
“In these tough economic times marked by limited credit and homeowners struggling to stay afloat, we are pleased that Wells Fargo has stepped forward to be a partner in our efforts to increase fair lending,” said NAACP Board Chairman Roslyn Brock.
