Capital One Settles Bias Suit Inherited from Chevy Chase

Capital One (COF) will pay nearly $3 million to settle discrimination charges against a bank it bought four years ago.

The Justice Department and Capital One agreed Monday to settle allegations that Chevy Chase Bank systematically charged African-American and Hispanic borrowers higher mortgage rates from 2006 through 2009, when it was bought by Capital One. Under the settlement, Capital One, which paid $520 million to acquire the Maryland bank in February 2009, would have to pay $2.85 to about 3,100 affected borrowers.

"This settlement ensures that African-American and Hispanic borrowers who paid more for their mortgages as a result of Chevy Chase Bank's actions will be properly compensated," said Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, in a press release. "We commend Capital One for working cooperatively with the Justice Department to reach this agreement."

The Justice Department complaint says Chevy Chase charged minority borrowers higher interest rates and fees, in violation of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, from 2006 through 2009. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency referred the alleged violations to the Justice Department in 2010.

A court will have to approve the settlement. The charges relates only to lending practices at Chevy Chase Bank, not Capital One.

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