Three Metro Atlanta Counties Bring Fair Housing Suit Against Major Bankster Alleging Claims That Predatory, Discriminatory Lending Encouraged Foreclosure, Destroyed Neighborhoods

In Atlanta, Georgia, WSB-TV Channel 2 reports:

• Channel 2 Action News has learned three metro Atlanta area counties are taking on a major bank, saying predatory lending has hurt neighborhoods and cost tax revenue.
  
  Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties filed a lawsuit Thursday against HSBC, saying damages are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. "It is the first instance in Georgia of the local governments, on behalf of the people, saying, 'We are all victims of the mortgage foreclosure crisis,'" said Emory professor Frank Alexander, who specializes in real estate finance.
  
  Thousands of boarded up homes with overgrown lawns are signs of the mortgage meltdown still hammering metro Atlanta neighborhoods.
  
  The lawsuit alleges predatory and discriminatory mortgage lending by HSBC encouraged foreclosures, which lower values for all homeowners. The suit, filed in federal court, makes claims under the Fair Housing Act.
  
  "The lawsuit alleges that [HSBC] made loans that were racially discriminatory; that the terms of the loans they made to minorities or persons of color were different than loans they were making to other people," Alexander said.
  
  Records show HSBC owns more than 160 properties within the three counties but has taken over roughly 3,500 since 2006.

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• Alexander said lawsuits under the Fair Housing Act are usually filed by the individuals who were wronged, not county governments. He said the plaintiffs will have to overcome that hurdle.

For more, see Atlanta-area counties sue bank for predatory lending.