By Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and other Senate Democrats asked for government regulators’ attention. Wells Fargo Refinancing policies of (NYSE:) to make sure they aren’t discriminatory

After a recent study found that Wells Fargo approved only half of all mortgage refinance requests for Black borrowers and signed off on 72% of those from White borrowers, lawmakers sent letters to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“The stark disparity between refinance approval rates at Wells Fargo and other races raises concerns about the company’s mortgage systems and processes in compliance with all federal fair lending and housing laws and regulations,” wrote Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin.

The Federal Reserve began to increase interest rates in 2018 for the first time, causing borrowers who were denied refinance to miss out on the opportunity to benefit from record low mortgage rates. This could lead to increased costs over the years.

After a Bloomberg analysis, the letter was sent after Wells Fargo failed to approve minority applicants’ refinance requests. They approved just half of all applications for refinance from Black borrowers in 2020 and 53% from Hispanic applicants. According to Bloomberg analysis, all other lenders approved Black applicants and Hispanic applicants at 71% and 79% rates, respectively.

Although a spokesperson for Wells Fargo did not respond immediately to Bloomberg’s request, the bank had previously stated to Bloomberg that it conducted an internal review and determined that the discrepancy resulted from additional credit factors.