WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic senators, led by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown of Ohio, is asking federal regulators to review Navy Federal's lending practices in light of allegations of racial discrimination in mortgage lending.
The letter, sent by Brown and nine other Senate Democrats — including Chair of the Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden of Oregon and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee Jack Reed of Rhode Island — urges the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate Navy Federal Credit Union's mortgage lending.
The push represents growing concern on the Hill about Navy Federal, and its allegedly discriminatory mortgage lending practices.
"The Fair Housing Act and [Equal Credit Opportunity Act] prohibit discrimination in housing and in mortgage lending," the lawmakers said. "While it is appropriate for a lender to deny a mortgage application when the loan will not be sustainable for the borrower, those decisions are made based on a borrower's financial ability to repay the loan. It should go without saying that a person's race, or any other protected characteristic, should never be a factor."
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"We ask that you thoroughly review Navy Federal's mortgage lending practices and outcomes for compliance with all federal fair housing and fair lending laws and regulations," the lawmakers said. "Navy Federal's members have made countless sacrifices in their service to our country. We must do all we can to ensure illegal barriers are not placed on their path to homeownership."
The credit union has received congressional pushback on the issue before. After the CNN report, House Financial Services Committee ranking member Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., criticized Navy Federal for the alleged discrimination.
"As a private institution that bears the name of an esteemed branch of the United States military, Navy Federal must explain both to Congress and their members how such practices took place, what immediate steps are being taken to correct the harm done, and who in management will be held responsible," she said. "Its leadership should also share to what extent they prioritize diversity and inclusion, including on their management team and board, as well as in their hiring, promoting, and contracting practices."
Navy Federal has pushed back against the allegations of discrimination outlined in the CNN article, saying that a fuller assessment of the credit union's lending practices will exonerate it from wrongdoing.
"We take our responsibility to fair lending very seriously and are closely examining the allegations in the recent CNN article," Navy Federal said. "The statistics in the article do not appear to have considered several key credit criteria that all financial institutions, including Navy Federal, rely on to assess mortgage applications."
