News Summary - 5/22

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), May 22, 2008

City defends reverse redlining suit

Attorneys for the city of Baltimore have filed an opposition to Wells Fargo Bank's motion to dismiss the lawsuit accusing the lender of predatory lending practices. The response -- 82 pages, not counting a 99-page appendix of unpublished cases and a 114-page affidavit -- takes issue with statements the bank made about the source of the city's foreclosure woes, specifically the tax lien foreclosure program. The suit, filed in January in U.S. District Court, alleged that Wells Fargo sold higher-interest subprime mortgages to blacks more frequently than to whites in a practice known as reverse redlining, in violation of federal housing law. Wells Fargo has denied using race as a factor in making loans.