San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank agreed to a $110 million settlement with shareholders following a lawsuit that alleged discriminatory hiring and lending practices, the plaintiffs announced Sunday. 

The case, which will be granted final approval in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Monday, will create a $100 million borrower assistance fund to provide mortgage assistance for low-to-moderate income borrowers and will ensure a “more inclusive” housing system at the bank, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys at the Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy firm. 

According to the plaintiffs, the settlement resolves multiple lawsuits against Wells Fargo alleging sham interviews with minority candidates for jobs that had already been filled — so that the bank would look like it was reaching diversity outreach goals — as well as allegations that the bank approved fewer than half of Black homeowners’ refinancing applications in 2020. 

The lawsuits, including one filed by long-time Wells Fargo shareholder Amy Isenberg, were ultimately consolidated together in the federal court in San Francisco. Other plaintiffs included the City of Pontiac Reestablished General Employees Retirement System in Michigan and the City of Plantation Police Officers’ Retirement Fund in Florida. 

The judge in the case, Trina Thompson, called the settlement “restorative” and “historic,” and said it will hopefully spur institutional change at Wells Fargo, according to court transcripts.  

“This program at least provides an exceptional amount of hope for a lot of people who did not think the American dream would be available to them under these economic times,” said Thompson in her ruling.  

Mark Molumphy, a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, also praised the settlement. 

“Home ownership is a cornerstone of the American dream and has even more profound benefits for families from historically underserved communities,” he said in a statement released by his office Sunday. 

“[This] settlement launches a new program that will provide down payment and closing costs assistance to thousands of low- and moderate-income borrowers and help them obtain the benefits of homeownership.” 

Wells Fargo could not immediately be reached for comment.  

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.