*Navy Federal Credit Union is facing a lawsuit accusing the lender of racial discrimination.
According to a recent CNN report, the nation’s largest federal credit union approved 77% of the mortgage applications from White people but only 56% of the applications from Latinos and 48% from Black applicants.
Attorneys Ben Crump and Adam Levitt “filed a lawsuit on behalf of Black plaintiffs Laquita Oliver and Cherelle Jacob who sought home loans with defendant Navy Federal Credit Union,” according to a news release. The lawsuit alleges denials for their home loans are due to Navy Federal’s discriminatory lending practices.
“The outright discrimination that occurs when Banking While Black continues to reveal itself in the lending practices of many of America’s largest financial institutions,” said Crump.
The complaint argues that Navy Federal “systematically discriminates against would-be borrowers by race.”
“It is shameful that Navy Federal, an organization that prides itself in helping the families of men and women who served their country, does not give their Black and Latino customers the same opportunities as White customers,” Crump added.
CNN’s study also revealed that Navy Federal approved a higher percentage of applications from white borrowers making less than $62,000 a year than it did from Black borrowers making $140,000 or more.
“We hope this legal action will stop racial lending discrimination in its tracks and require Navy Federal to right their wrongs,” said attorney Adam Levitt. “Home ownership is recognized as the cornerstone of the American Dream. We will not sit by while that dream is denied to hard-working and deserving Americans based on discriminatory practices and algorithms.”
Navy Federal denied CNN’s findings in a statement on Dec. 15.
“Navy Federal Credit Union was recently included in a news story about lending practices in the mortgage industry,” the statement said, Yahoo reports. “We care deeply about this issue and want you to know the report does not accurately reflect our lending practices and is rooted in an incomplete analysis of lending data that does not account for major criteria required by a financial institution to approve a mortgage loan.”
The statement continued, “We proudly provide a higher percentage of mortgage loans to Black applicants than the vast majority of the top 50 mortgage originators nationwide. Our members put their faith in us to do right by them financially, and we stand by the promise that we are abiding by all fair lending practices.”
READ MORE: Ben Crump to Sue Governor Ron Desantis for Rejecting AP African American Studies | VIDEO
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