The city of Memphis and Shelby County, Tenn., are suing Wells Fargo & Co. – parent of Wachovia Bank branches in Connecticut — under the Fair Housing Act, accusing Wells Fargo of “unlawful, irresponsible, unfair, deceptive and discriminatory mortgage-lending practices” in that market, according to the Memphis Business Journal.
The civil litigation alleges Wells Fargo targeted minority communities for predatory practices that have resulted in a disproportionate and unnecessary number of foreclosures, MBJ reports today on its Web site.
The suit, MBJ said, claims the concentration of foreclosures in areas targeted for bad loans has resulted in extreme blighting, vacancies, reduced property values and lower tax revenue.
A spokeswoman for the bank couldn’t be reached for comment, MBJ said.
Earlier last year, the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission authorized lawsuits to redress the injuries related to alleged discriminatory lending practices, MBJ said.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop many foreclosures and asks the court to hold Wells Fargo responsible for damages in the city and county, although a specific monetary damage isn’t listed, the newspaper said.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is a diversified financial-services company with $1.3 trillion in assets.
It agreed in fall 2008 to buy Wachovia Corp. in a deal facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as the Charlotte bank teetered on the brink of failure. Wells Fargo completed the purchase Dec. 31, 2008.
