CNN recently reported that Navy Federal Credit Union is more than twice as likely to deny a loan from a Black applicant as a white applicant.
Hispanic applicants were approximately 85 percent more likely to be denied compared to white applicants.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and former fair housing attorney, joined Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and colleagues in calling on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to review the concerning gap in mortgage approval rates between white applicants and Black and Hispanic applicants.
Navy Federal, the nation’s largest credit union, has more than 13 million members, including servicemembers of all military branches, veterans, Department of Defense civilian employees and their relatives.
“When denial rates for Black and Hispanic applicants at one institution appear to be drastically higher than the national average and higher than their rates for similarly situated white borrowers, it raises questions about whether its mortgage lending practices comply with federal fair housing and fair lending laws and regulations,” the Senators wrote.
Kaine and Brown are joined by Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Tina Smith of Minnesota, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
“As the regulators with primary responsibility for enforcing ECOA and the Fair Housing Act, we ask that you thoroughly review Navy Federal’s mortgage lending practices and outcomes for compliance with all federal fair housing and fair lending laws and regulations,” the Senators continued. “Navy Federal’s members have made countless sacrifices in their service to our country. We must do all we can to ensure illegal barriers are not placed on their path to homeownership.”
A spokesperson with Navy Federal reached out to Augusta Free Press and provided the following statement.
“Navy Federal is committed to serving each and every one of our members fairly, and we strive every day to expand economic opportunity and access to credit for our diverse community of members. Because these issues are core to who we are, we have also already initiated a review to assess our mortgage lending policies and practices. We are proud of the fact that Navy Federal’s percentage of originations to Black borrowers is among the largest of the top 50 lenders. We will continue to work to support all of our members — including Black borrowers — to help them build strong financial futures.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
