Moderate Dems, Hispanic Caucus Press Navy Federal and Regulators on Bias Allegations

Groups want answers about possible bias and regulatory responses

Moderate Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are demanding that Navy Federal Credit Union and financial regulators address allegations that the credit union discriminated against Black mortgage applicants.

In a letter sent to Navy Federal President/CEO Mary McDuffie, members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition and the Hispanic Caucus cite a CNN report on the allegations.

“What, if any, is Navy FCU’s legitimate, non-discriminatory reason to explain the disparities in conventional and VA loans for Black and Latino mortgage applicants as identified in CNN’s investigation?” they wrote in their letter to McDuffie.

They said that any harmed consumers must receive assistance if evidence does show that mortgage applicants were discriminated against. That assistance could include a Special Purpose Credit Program, they wrote.

In their letter to regulators, including the National Credit Union Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Justice Department, the House members ask whether the agencies have reason to believe that Navy Federal discriminated in mortgage processing. They also ask how often the agencies have referred a credit union to the Justice Department for allegations of discrimination.

The letters follow a letter from House Democrats asking for a Financial Services Committee hearing on the issue and a letter from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, asking the Biden Administration to investigate the allegations.

CNN reported in December that Navy Federal, the nation’s largest credit union, approved 75% of White borrowers who applied for a conventional home purchase mortgage in 2022, compared with less than 50% of Black borrowers who applied for the same type of loan.

A group of Navy Federal mortgage applicants have filed a class action lawsuit against the credit union, alleging that the credit union discriminated against Black and Hispanic members.

Navy Federal officials have said they have hired a civil rights attorney to conduct an internal probe of CNN’s allegations.