Wells Fargo announced yesterday in a statement sent to Mshale that it will soon start extending mortgages and other credit programs to DACA recipients commonly known as “Dreamers.”
The bank was hit with lawsuits last year for discriminating against those on DACA among a host of other legal and regulatory challenges it faced unrelated to DACA.
The announcement comes a few days before the bank’s chief, CEO Charlie Scharf and Chair Elizabeth Duke, are scheduled to testify before the US Congress’ Financial Services Committee regarding the beleaguered bank’s work culture and management. The DACA move is viewed as an attempt to address some of the concerns about the bank. A day before the DACA announcement, the bank had announced it would raise its minimum age to between $15-$20 per hour based on the market.
DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood is a 2012 Obama program meant to protect those who were brought into the US illegally as children and are now grown.
Except where barred by specific investors, mortgages and home equity loans will be extended to those on DACA that qualify for them, the banks statements said. The rollout will start in the first half of 2020 and continue to the first quarter of 2021.
“Wells Fargo’s product set and customer reach enable us to contribute meaningfully to the opportunity DACA recipients have to succeed in the United States. We believe it is incumbent upon us to make credit as available as possible for these individuals as they seek to realize their ambitions,” said Mary Mack, Wells Fargo’s CEO of consumer and small business banking. “This is part of our continuing commitment to provide responsible lending and to expand our financial support and partnership for the many diverse communities we serve.”
House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters, speaking to reporters after the bank’s moves, applauded Wells Fargo’s action on minimum age and moves to address overdraft fees, but said the bank has more work to do.
“It goes a lot deeper than several actions that are taken prior to coming to the board to change our opinion,” Waters said.
About Tom Gitaa Gitaa, Editor-in-Chief
Born and raised in Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, Tom is the Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mshale which has been reporting on the news and culture of African immigrants in the United States since 1995. He has a BA in Business from Metro State University and a Public Leadership Credential from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the original host of Talking Drum, the signature current affairs show on the African Broadcasting Network (ABN-America), which was available nationwide in the United States via the Dish Network satellite service. On the show, he interviewed Nobel laureates such as 2004 Nobel Peace prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to win the peace prize and heads of states. Tom has served and chaired various boards including Global Minnesota (formerly Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest World Affairs Council in the United States. He has previously served as the first Black President of the Board of Directors at Books for Africa. He also serves on the boards of New Vision Foundation and the Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. He has previously served two terms on the board of the United Nations Association. An avid runner, he retired from running full marathons after turning 50 and now only focuses on training for half marathons.
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