Bank of America settles discrimination allegations

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bank of America has agreed to settle allegations by the government that the financial institution discriminated against mortgage loan applicants with disabilities by asking them to provide medical information from a doctor. The Justice Department said that in asking for the information, the bank violated the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act on the basis of disability. In an effort to identify victims, Bank of America will hire an administrator to search 25,000 loan applications involving income from Social Security Disability Insurance. The bank says it will pay $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 to eligible mortgage loan applicants who were asked to provide a letter from their doctor to document the income they received from SSDI. Published: Wed, Sep 19, 2012