The NAACP has announced that it is ending its lawsuit against Wells Fargo Bank NA. Since 2007, the NAACP has filed lawsuits against more than a dozen of the largest financial institutions alleging violations of the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts and racial discrimination. Unlike other pending lawsuits that seek monetary damages on behalf of individual borrowers, the NAACP lawsuits seek to change mortgage lending industry behaviors.Read more

In 2008, 2,877 different multifamily lenders provided a total of more than $88 billion in new financing for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to an annual report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 2008 dollar volume represents a 40 percent decline from 2007 levels. In terms of total dollar volume, the top five multifamily lenders in 2008 were PNC Real Estate, Wachovia, Wells Fargo Bank NA, Capmark Financial Group Inc., and Deutsche Bank Commercial Real Estate.Read more

Wells Fargo Ventures LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank NA and Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate have announced a joint venture to originate and fund mortgage loans for Prudential Douglas Elliman and other New York customers looking to finance or refinance their home. The jointly-owned mortgage company, DE Capital Mortgage LLC, replaces Preferred Empire Mortgage Company, which maintained wholesale relationships with a nationwide network of financing institutions for Prudential Douglas Elliman.Read more