Wells Fargo commits $60 billion to boosting African-American homeownership

Wells Fargo & Company recently made a commitment to increasing African-American homeownership, dedicating $60 billion to the initiative.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) applauded the bank's loan commitment.

"The bank is the first financial institution to acknowledge publicly Black Americans’ wealth-building potential which could be greatly improved through homeownership," NAREB President Ron Cooper said in a press release.

Wells Fargo not only committed funding to increase homeownership to qualified African-American borrowers, but it also intends to increase the diversity of the bank's sales team and commit $15 million to promote financial education and counseling.

“Wells Fargo’s $60 billion lending goal can contribute to economic growth by making responsible homeownership possible for more African-Americans in communities across the country,” Wells Fargo Executive Vice President Brad Blackwell said. “We are proud to be the first mortgage lender to make a public commitment to help increase African American homeownership. And, we are grateful for the support of key housing and civil rights organizations, who work alongside us to increase economic prosperity in our communities.”

This is Wells Fargo Housing Policy and Homeownership Growth Strategies group's second initiative. The first, announced in 2015, supported the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals' Hispanic Wealth Project.