The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced a conciliation agreement between the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and Movement Mortgage LLC, resolving allegations the latter engaged in discriminatory lending practices based on race and national origin.

The agreement stemmed from a complaint filed with HUD by NCRC alleging it conducted testing in the Seattle-Tacoma area which revealed different treatment of Black and Hispanic testers and white testers seeking housing loans. Movement Mortgage denied it provided less favorable treatment to the testers based on race or national origin.

“This agreement reflects HUD’s commitment to ensuring that everyone has equal access to credit regardless of their race or national origin,” said Demetria McCain, HUD’s principal deputy assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity. “It is imperative that lenders comply with fair housing laws. HUD will continue working to ensure that all applicants are treated equally.”

According to the agreement, Movement Mortgage will pay $65,000 to NCRC and contribute an additional $10,000 to a Seattle-area non-profit organization specializing in providing financial literacy and housing education and counseling for persons in majority-minority census tracts in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area.

The company also will conduct a “Grab the Key” event in the Seattle metro area designed to improve homeownership rates of Black homebuyers. Movement Mortgage employees also will complete additional fair lending training.