Feds Fine Wells Fargo Over Discrimination Claims

Wells Fargo Bank (WFC) will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it discriminated against African-American and Hispanic borrowers in violation of fair-lending laws, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest residential home mortgage originator, allegedly engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers from 2004 through 2009.

At a news conference, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the bank’s discriminatory lending practices resulted in more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers in 36 states and the District of Columbia paying higher rates for loans solely because of the color of their skin.

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Pictured: A sign is posted in front of a Wells Fargo Bank branch on July 19, 2011 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)