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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says it is investigating Wells Fargo’s mortgage lending policies under the Fair Housing Act. The review includes a 2017 lending commitment and a 2022 refinancing program for eligible Black homeowners; HUD has not announced findings, and Wells Fargo declined to comment to Banking Dive.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened an investigation into Wells Fargo’s mortgage lending policies, alleging that the bank’s practices may violate the Fair Housing Act. The review includes a 2017 lending commitment aimed at increasing Black homeownership and a 2022 program that offered eligible Black homeowners help refinancing mortgages, but HUD has not announced a finding that the bank broke the law.
In a letter to Wells Fargo Chief Executive Charlie Scharf sent Wednesday, HUD’s fair housing and equal opportunity office said it was investigating the bank’s mortgage policies and practices. The letter, described by Banking Dive, focused in part on the bank’s $60 billion commitment in 2017 to help create at least 250,000 African American homeowners by 2027, as well as a $150 million program launched in 2022 to help eligible Black homeowners refinance at lower rates.
Craig Trainor, HUD’s assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, argued in the letter that race-based lending violates the act. He characterized Wells Fargo as an early public adopter of what he called a “racialized home loan policy.” Those statements describe the administration’s position; the investigation is not itself a determination that the programs were unlawful. A Wells Fargo spokesperson declined to comment to Banking Dive.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner also criticized the programs in a prepared statement. He said that even if the bank did not violate the law, dividing Americans by race through lending practices was “immoral, unethical and un-American.” The statement expresses the secretary’s view and does not establish the outcome of the department’s review.
Scrutiny of Targeted Mortgage Programs
The investigation puts programs designed to address racial disparities in homeownership under federal legal scrutiny. Its outcome could affect how lenders assess the use of special purpose credit programs and other targeted efforts to expand access to mortgages or refinancing. HUD has not said whether its review will lead to enforcement action, so the potential consequences for Wells Fargo or other lenders remain uncertain.
The issue matters to borrowers because mortgage eligibility and refinancing costs affect access to housing and household finances. The 2022 program was described as offering eligible Black homeowners a route to refinance at lower rates. Any change in how lenders structure such programs could influence what assistance is offered, though the investigation announcement does not say that Wells Fargo has suspended either program or that borrowers’ existing loans are affected.
The dispute also involves competing legal and policy arguments: HUD’s letter says race-conscious lending can violate fair housing law, while the programs were presented by the bank as efforts to address a gap in homeownership and refinancing access. The department’s findings, rather than the accusations in the letter alone, will determine what HUD concludes about the bank’s conduct.
Black homeownership mortgage assistance
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How the Two Programs Began
Wells Fargo’s first commitment in the review dates to 2017, during the first Trump administration. The bank pledged $60 billion in lending with a stated goal of creating at least 250,000 African American homeowners by 2027. The later initiative came in 2022, after Biden-era interagency guidance encouraged financial institutions to use special purpose credit programs to address the needs of economically disadvantaged communities.
The 2022 refinancing program also followed a Bloomberg report, cited by Banking Dive, that Wells Fargo’s acceptance rate for Black borrowers seeking to refinance was 15 percentage points below the industrywide average. The bank described its program at the time as a next step toward closing a racial homeownership gap. HUD’s letter now challenges the legality of race-based eligibility, while the department’s August rescission of the interagency guidance forms part of the broader policy backdrop.
Banks had already pulled back from some diversity, equity and inclusion language in 2025 amid a federal crackdown on private-sector DEI initiatives, according to Banking Dive. Trainor said HUD would examine actual practices rather than a company’s terminology or website language. That means the current review concerns the substance of lending policies, not simply how Wells Fargo describes them publicly.
“Despite the Fair Housing Act’s unambiguous, categorical prohibition on race-based home loans, the previous administration used special purpose credit programs as a vehicle to import racial discrimination into the housing market.”
— Craig Trainor, HUD assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, in a letter to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf
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Investigation Has No Findings Yet
HUD has not disclosed evidence supporting the allegations, specified the full scope or timetable of its investigation, or said whether it expects to pursue penalties or other enforcement. The report does not say whether the two programs remain active or how the inquiry may affect people who applied for or received assistance. Wells Fargo declined to comment to Banking Dive, leaving the bank’s response to the allegations unavailable in the source report.
It also remains unresolved how HUD will assess the programs under the Fair Housing Act and whether its conclusions will distinguish between the 2017 lending commitment and the 2022 refinancing program. No court ruling or agency determination is reported. The administration’s claims should therefore be understood as allegations under review, not proof of a violation.
HUD fair housing investigation books
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HUD Review and Bank Response
The next substantive development will be information from HUD about the investigation’s scope, evidence or conclusions. The department has not provided a public timetable in the report, so when it may issue findings is unknown. Any enforcement step, if one follows, would be separate from the opening of the probe.
Wells Fargo may respond to HUD or comment publicly as the review proceeds, but the bank had declined to comment when Banking Dive published its report. Until HUD releases further information or the bank responds, the central questions are whether the agency finds unlawful lending practices and what, if anything, it will require the bank to do.
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Key Questions
What is HUD investigating?
HUD says it is examining Wells Fargo’s mortgage lending policies and practices, including a 2017 lending commitment and a 2022 refinancing program for eligible Black homeowners.
Has HUD found that Wells Fargo broke the law?
No finding is reported. HUD has opened an investigation and alleged that the practices may violate the Fair Housing Act; the allegations have not been established by the probe’s outcome.
What were the Wells Fargo programs?
The 2017 commitment was a stated $60 billion lending effort intended to help create at least 250,000 African American homeowners by 2027. The 2022 program allocated $150 million to help eligible Black homeowners refinance mortgages at lower rates.
Has Wells Fargo responded?
Banking Dive reported that a Wells Fargo spokesperson declined to comment. The report did not include a substantive response from the bank.
What happens next?
HUD has not announced a timetable or next milestone. The department’s findings and any decision about enforcement remain pending.
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