Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks

“They referred to subprime loans made in minority communities as ghetto loans and minority customers as ‘those people have bad credit’, ‘those people don’t pay their bills’ and ‘mud people.’”

Tony Paschal
former Wells Fargo loan officer

“We have worked extremely hard to make homeownership possible for more African-American borrowers. We absolutely do not tolerate team members treating our customers or others disrespectfully or unfairly, or who violate our ethics and lending practices.”

Kevin Waetke
spokesman for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

This is a troubling story about how Wells Fargo may have targeted minorities for sub-prime loans even in situations when a white applicant would receive a prime loan. If true, Wells Fargo needs to do much more than have its employees attend cultural sensitivity training. If true, Wells Fargo may have been harboring some of the most dangerous forms of racist ideology.

I'm referring to the term "mud people." It is a code word used by the worst of racists. It is not just a slip of a tongue -- "Oops I didn't mean to offend." It is used by groups like the Aryan Nations as part of their twisted world view that whites are superior to other races and are destined to rule the world following an apocalyptic race war.

I found this blog called Real Eyes Realize Real Lies, which summed up a lot of the history:
"In the mid-1980s, many Aryan Nations members teamed up with other racists to form “The Order” — which is still memorialized on the Aryan Nations Web site. The Order robbed banks, counterfeited money, ambushed armored cars — and murdered — to finance a planned overthrow of the U.S. government."

I wish the NAACP luck in their class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo and other banks. Let us hope the truth comes out, that hidden racism is dragged into the sunlight and exposed for what it is.