WASHINGTON–Members of Congress who met on Capitol Hill with the CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union over its alleged bias in mortgage lending left the meeting “unsatisfied” with the responses provided, according to a new report.
CNN, whose analysis of national mortgage lending led to the allegations of mortgage bias at the world’s largest credit union, said Navy Federal CEO Mary McDuffie met with three members of the Congressional Black Caucus in response to the report that found the credit union had the widest disparity in mortgage approval rates between White and Black borrowers of any major lender, a trend that “reached new heights last year,” according to the analysis performed by CNN.
Those findings have since led to an internal investigation, calls for hearings on Capitol Hill and a class action lawsuit.
The Goal
“We’re trying to achieve the goal of closing the racial wealth gap in America,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) told CNN after meeting with McDuffie. “You cannot do that with practices like this that deny equal opportunity to homeownership.”
According to CNN, McDuffie met for about an hour Thursday with Horsford, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance; and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California.
CNN said McDuffie declined to answer its questions as she entered and exited the closed-door meeting.
Cleaver told CNN after the meeting that McDuffie and other Navy Federal representatives “could not provide an answer” explaining the racial disparities in mortgage approvals, and that he hoped to hear more from them in the future. “We’re expecting to have another meeting with them, we’re expecting to get facts this time,” he said.
Specific Questions
Horsford told CNN the members “asked very specific questions about the timeline of that review,” and found the responses from Navy Federal “inadequate.”
“Time is of the essence, because every single day that they don’t change or update their protocols is a servicemember, and particularly a Black or Latino servicemember, who is facing denials,” he was quoted as saying.
A Navy Federal spokesperson told CNN in a statement that the credit union is “committed to engaging with policymakers on this important issue” and “we work daily to help expand economic opportunity and access to credit for our diverse community of members.”
Navy Federal has earlier stated that a higher percentage of its mortgage loans go to Black borrowers than most other large lenders. But Horsford told CNN the response didn’t address “the issue of denials.”
‘It Should Be Higher’
“More than 40% of our servicemembers, active duty, are people of color,” the congressman told the news network. “So, yeah, they are one of the leading lenders and mortgage lenders for Black home loans – because they have a higher percentage of servicemembers who are their membership. It should be higher.”
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