In the past two years, eight mortgage firms have settled charges that they discriminated against loan applicants who were on maternity leave. A ninth action has now been announced.
This time around it is SunTrust Mortgage Inc. that is agreeing to a settlement, according to an announcement Wednesday from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
SunTrust disclosed in August 2012 that it was under investigation by HUD. At issue were its origination practices on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
The latest actions involve two conciliation agreements with the Richmond, Va.-based company for $36,000.
SunTrust allegedly pre-approved a Florida couple for a loan then told them 14 days before closing that the wife would have to return to work before the loan could be approved.
An Ashland, Va., couple that had obtained a construction-to-permanent loan from SunTrust were delayed on the conversion to a permanent loan until the woman was back at work.
SunTrust allegedly violated the Fair Housing Act when it took the adverse actions.
Each couple will be paid $18,000 by the mortgage lender. SunTrust will also beef up its related policies and compliance procedures.
SunTrust agreed to a $21 million settlement a year ago with the Justice Department over alleged higher pricing charged to minority borrowers.
The maternity issue is one that HUD has been aggressively pursing, with the following eight maternity-related actions taken over the past two years.
| Company | Date of Agreement | Amount |
| Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. | Apr 30 2013 | $15,000 |
| PNC Mortgage | Feb 6, 2013 | $13,000 |
| Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. | Nov 29, 2012 | $1,015,000 |
| Land Home Financial Services | Sep 7, 2012 | $20,000 |
| Bank of America Corp. | Jun 2012 | $261,180 |
| Magna Bank | Apr 5, 2012 | $14,085 |
| Home Loan Center Inc. | Apr 5, 2012 | $15,000 |
| Cornerstone Mortgage Co. | Jun 1, 2011 | $765,000 |
