HUD Opens Fair-Housing Probe Into Wells Fargo Homeownership Program

HUD told Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf that it is investigating whether the bank’s special purpose credit program to promote Black homeownership violated fair-housing or fair-lending laws. HUD described the inquiry as focused on race-based decision-making; Wells Fargo declined to comment to Realtor.com, and the report does not establish a violation.

Why it matters. The probe puts Wells Fargo’s targeted mortgage-assistance programs under federal scrutiny and may affect how lenders assess race-conscious lending initiatives.