NAACP Sues Mortgage Lenders

The NAACP is suing two major banks, claiming they engaged in racist lending practices.

The NAACP filed lawsuits Friday against two of the nation's largest mortgage lenders -- HSBC and Wells Fargo -- alleging "systematic, institutionalized racism" in their subprime lending.
NAACP CEO Benjamin Jealous says, "We are not seeking damages; we just want them to fix the problem." We have targeted these banks because we have gone through what we can get our hands on, and it seems like there's a real problem here," NAACP CEO Benjamin Jealous told CNN. Jealous said the group wants "transparency." "We want to see the books," he added. "We are not seeking damages; we just want them to fix the problem." [snip] Under subprime lending, people who don't qualify for lower interest rates can borrow money at higher rates. The NAACP argues that the companies gave subprime rates to African-Americans who qualified for better rates and gave better rates to white customers with similar credit histories.

No damages requested, just a "you stop that right now." Hmm. Maybe the NAACP doesn't think the banks would be able to pay in the first place.