Wells settles maternity discrimination suit with borrowers

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage will pay $5 million to settle allegations that they discriminated against potential borrowers who were pregnant or on maternity leave, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced.

“The settlement is significant for the six families who had the courage to file complaints, and for countless other families who will no longer fear losing out on a home simply because they are expecting a baby,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro.

Wells Fargo will distribute a total of $165,000 among the six families who filed the lawsuit. The bank will also create a fund, allocating at least $3.5 million, to compensate any other Wells Fargo applicants who may have faced maternity discrimination. A spokesman said the bank will change its underwriting guidelines when it comes to evaluating mortgage loan applications for those on maternity leave.

“We resolved these claims to avoid a lengthy legal dispute so we can continue to serve the needs of our customers,” said Tom Goyda, Wells Fargo’s vice president of consumer lending communications. “Our underwriting is consistent with longstanding fair and responsible lending practices and our policies do not require that applicants on temporary leave return to work before being approved. The agreement resolves claims related to only five loan applications from a period when Wells Fargo processed a total of approximately 3 million applications from female customers.”

HUD has received 190 maternity leave discrimination complaints since 2010. The complaints have resulted in more than 40 settlements, having totaled nearly $1.5 million prior to the most recent Wells Fargo settlement.