Community

Commentator and PBS
talk show host Tavis
Smiley is engaged in
damage control after a media
frenzy, which has linked him
to predatory lending. The
Washington Independent
reported that he steered
African Americans toward
high-interest loans through
his free seminars. According
to TWI, (Sept. 17, 2009)
Wells Fargo & Co. allegedly
targeted African American
borrowers through its sponsorship
of Smiley’s “Wealth
Building” Seminars.
Smiley called the reports
about his relationship with
Wells Fargo “false,” noting he
severed ties with the financial
institution several months
ago. The original story, published
in TWI stated that Smiley
has been heavily promoting
Wells Fargo home loans
to increase minority home
ownership.
Wells Fargo was the title
sponsor for the State of the
Black Union 2009, held on
February 27-28, which Smiley
organized. According to
C-SPAN footage of the event,
Smiley informed the predominantly
African-Ameri-can audience that “Wells Fargo
is your financial action
planning guide to every stage
of life.”
Wells Fargo has a history
of legal battles involving
predatory lending. In July, the
City of Baltimore sued the
nation’s second largest lender
for engaging in deliberate
predatory lending practices
targeted at African American
and Latino consumers. TWI
reported last week that, in a
suit filed by the city of Baltimore,
former employees
claimed Wells Fargo loan
officers referred to minority
borrowers as “mud people”
and called subprime mortgages
as “ghetto loans.”
Recently, Illinois Attorney
General Lisa Madigan
slapped the lender with their
second discrimination suit in
2009. Evidence shows that
white borrowers with similar
incomes and credit received
lower-cost loans than black
and Latino borrowers.
According to Madigan, these
illegal sales practices have
led to high foreclosure rates
in minority communities
(Reuters.com 7.31.09).
The fallout from high
foreclosures, bank bailouts,
golden “parachutes,” and
arbitrarily canceling and
lowering limits on credit
cards has consumers searching
for justice.
There have been conflicting
reports as to when Smiley
and Wells Fargo parted
ways. Shortly after news of
Smiley’s involvement with
Wells Fargo broke, the American
Prospect reported that
Smiley announced he would
cut all ties to Wells Fargo
& Co.
However, Smiley stated
that he “addressed this issue
many months ago” with a
statement posted on his website
during the first quarter of
this year.
“Those who are now suggesting
and reporting that I
cut my company’s ties to
Wells Fargo just days ago are wrong.
I have informed those persons who
have reported this false information
on the Internet of their error and have
requested that they make the necessary
corrections.”
Wells Fargo became a sponsor of
The Smiley Group, Inc. in 2005.
Smiley said that he was a victim of
redlining and predatory lending in
South Los Angeles and remains
“committed to spreading a message
of self-determination through financial
literacy to African Americans and
to all who will listen.”