A federal lawsuit has accused Wells Fargo of discriminatory lending practices.
The city of Sacramento, California, filed the suit, which claims the banking giant pushed high-risk or costly loans on African-American and Latino homeowners.
Four former Wells Fargo employees stepped forward and allege the company "intentionally steered minority borrowers into higher cost loans because of their race and ethnicity."
The city argues this practice drives down home values and limits tax revenue in minority communities.
The suit alleges black customers with credit scores above 660 were nearly three times more likely than white home owners to receive one of these high-risk or high-cost loans. It also argues Latino borrowers were almost twice as likely to get one of these loans than their white counterparts.
Wells Fargo sent a statement to The Sacramento Bee, saying, in part, "We will will vigorously defend our longstanding record of fair and responsible lending."
