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Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary settles U.S. mortgage redlining charges

2022.07.27 20:26

Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary settles U.S. mortgage redlining charges
FILE PHOTO: A view of the downtown skyline in Philadelphia, February 12, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller/File Photo

(Reuters) – A mortgage subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc has agreed to pay $22.4 million to settle U.S. government charges that it intentionally discriminated against minority families in the Philadelphia area.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Trident Mortgage Co actively discouraged people in majority-minority neighborhoods from applying for mortgages or mortgage refinancings, through a process known as redlining.

The agencies said Trident developed marketing campaigns that discouraged minority loan applications and employed loan officers almost exclusively in majority-white neighborhoods, while employees often distributed racist emails and used racist tropes.

Wednesday’s settlement is the first by the U.S. government involving illegal discrimination by a nonbank mortgage lender.

Trident’s lawyers and its parent HomeServices of America, itself a Berkshire unit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The $22.4 million payment includes a $4 million civil fine, and $18.4 million to subsidize loans for minority applicants. Trident will also spend $2 million on ads to generate applications and serve credit needs in redlined areas.

Trident stopped accepting mortgage loan applications in 2021.

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