Lawsuits Allege Predatory Lending By HSBC, Bank Of America
From the Chicago Sun-Times
Cook County has launched a pair of lawsuits against two major banks, alleging that they helped cause the Chicago region’s foreclosure crisis by deliberately marketing predatory loans to black and Latino borrowers.
HSBC, Bank of America and its subsidiaries including Countrywide and Merrill Lynch all badly hurt black and Latino neighborhoods when they disproportionately targeted minority homebuyers for subprime loans with higher interest rates and fees, the county claims.
Black and Latino homeowners in many cases lost their homes when they ended up paying “hundreds of dollars more each month in mortgage payments” than they otherwise would have, according to the lawsuits, which are similar to those brought in other cities, including Baltimore, Cleveland and Memphis.
“This predatory lending crisis caused tremendous tangible and intangible damage, particularly to African American and Latino communities,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who filed the federal complaints with Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, said in a news release Monday.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Sun-Times
Cook County has launched a pair of lawsuits against two major banks, alleging that they helped cause the Chicago region’s foreclosure crisis by deliberately marketing predatory loans to black and Latino borrowers.
HSBC, Bank of America and its subsidiaries including Countrywide and Merrill Lynch all badly hurt black and Latino neighborhoods when they disproportionately targeted minority homebuyers for subprime loans with higher interest rates and fees, the county claims.
Black and Latino homeowners in many cases lost their homes when they ended up paying “hundreds of dollars more each month in mortgage payments” than they otherwise would have, according to the lawsuits, which are similar to those brought in other cities, including Baltimore, Cleveland and Memphis.
“This predatory lending crisis caused tremendous tangible and intangible damage, particularly to African American and Latino communities,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who filed the federal complaints with Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, said in a news release Monday.
Read more in our daily News Update...