Seven lawmakers on the House Financial Services Committee are asking Chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C) to hold a hearing on the nation’s largest credit union following media reports that it had turned down large volumes of mortgage applications from Black applicants. In a letter, Ranking Member Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and six committee Democrats noted that Navy Federal Credit Union reportedly approved 75% of White borrowers applying for a new conventional home purchase mortgage in 2022 while rejecting more than half of Black applicants. In addition, Latino applicants were turned down at a rate approaching 50%, they said.
“As a private institution that bears the name of an esteemed branch of the United States military, Navy Federal Credit Union must explain both to Congress and its members how such practices took place, what immediate steps are being taken to correct the harm done, and who in management will be held responsible,” the lawmakers said.
