Lawmakers call for federal investigation of Warren Buffett’s mobile-home business

Didn't all the banks do the same thing during the sub-prime crisis? Yeah, we'll leave the bankers alone, but let's go after the businessmen....



[link to www.seattletimes.com]

Senior Democratic lawmakers want federal regulators to investigate Warren Buffett’s mobile-home company after a Seattle Times/BuzzFeed News report that found the company’s predatory practices have harmed minority communities.

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House committee that oversees financial companies, called on the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to “investigate and pursue appropriate corrective action” about “potentially discriminatory lending and collection practices” at Clayton Homes and its lenders, Vanderbilt Mortgage and 21st Mortgage.

“I was appalled,” Waters said of the findings in the recent Seattle Times/BuzzFeed News investigation. “There is no place for the kind of sleazy and deceptive practices alleged in The Seattle Times articles. I was further taken aback by Mr. Buffett’s defense of Clayton’s lending practices, given the concerns that were raised” in articles earlier last year by The Seattle Times and the Center for Public Integrity.

The Seattle Times/BuzzFeed News investigation, published last month, detailed how Clayton Homes charges minority borrowers higher annual interest rates than white borrowers. The company systematically pursues minority homebuyers and baits them into costly subprime loans, the investigation found. It found that many of the loans fail, allowing Clayton to repossess and resell the homes.