NEW YORK—Banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. on Thursday reached a $175 million settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve allegations that the company violated fair-lending laws.
The San Francisco-based Wells Fargo allegedly discriminated against blacks and Hispanic borrowers from 2004 to 2009, the U.S. government said. The number of affected borrowers is estimated to be around 34,000 in total, located in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo, after its acquisition of Wachovia Corp. in 2008, became the nation’s biggest residential home mortgage originator.
