SunTrust Mortgage settles federal racial discrimination lawsuit

SunTrust Mortage has now settled a federal racial discrimination lawsuit for treating Hispanics and African-Americans differently in its lending practices.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, this settlement awarded is the second largest that has ever been given in connection with discriminatory lending practices.  The complaint stated that SunTrust Mortgage charged African-American and Hispanic borrowers more than it did white borrowers in similar situations.

Minority borrowers filed the complaint alleging that they were faced with higher interest fees and more loan fees based solely on national origin or race. The claim states that this was done to nearly 20,000 people from 2005 to 2009. While the company denied any wrongdoing, they stated that they would settle in order to avoid litigation.