Wells Fargo Facing Investigation for Wachovia Mortgage Practices

Government agencies are continuing their regulatory investigation of mortgage activities at ""Wells Fargo"":https://www.wellsfargo.com/ and Wachovia, according to a ""report"":https://www.wellsfargo.com/downloads/pdf/invest_relations/3Q12_10Q.pdf filed with the ""Securities and Exchange Commission"":http://www.sec.gov/ (SEC).

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Wells Fargo absorbed Wachovia in 2008 when Wachovia's shaky mortgage portfolio threatened the bank's soundness.

The government is looking into activities regarding mortgage origination and securitization, including risk disclosures at Wachovia.

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Wells Fargo has already agreed to pay $125 million to settle alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (EOCA). The allegations, filed earlier this year, pertain to actions that took place between 2004 and 2008 and ""primarily relating to mortgages priced and sold to consumers by third party brokers,"" Wells Fargo stated in its SEC filing.

In addition to the $125 million, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $50 million toward community support programs in eight metro areas. Details of this portion of the settlement have not yet been agreed upon.

Despite the settlement, Wells Fargo ""denied that it had violated the Fair Housing Act or EOCA.""

The Wachovia investigation isn't the only legal trouble the bank is facing. The U.S. government ""filed suit"":https://themreport.com/articles/us-sues-wells-fargo-over-underwriting-of-fha-loans-2012-10-09 against Wells Fargo in October, alleging improper certification on certain loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Wells Fargo filed a ""motion to dismiss"":https://themreport.com/articles/wells-fargo-federal-suit-violates-national-settlement-2012-11-02 the case in early November, arguing that the government is barred from such claims by the national mortgage settlement reached earlier this year.