The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating Wells Fargo over programs intended to increase Black homeownership, examining whether the bank’s efforts violated federal fair-lending laws. In a letter to Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf, HUD said it was looking into whether the bank favored Black or other minority homeowners through the initiatives. The agency is also reviewing similar programs at other banks. Wells Fargo had not commented on the investigation as of Oct. 8, 2026. The scope of the programs under review and the timeline for the federal inquiry were not detailed. The Fair Housing Act, a civil rights-era law, bars discrimination in housing-related transactions, including lending, based on characteristics such as race, religion or sex. The inquiry has particular relevance in North Carolina, where about 74% of homeowners are white, just over 14% are Black and 5% are Hispanic, according to the latest U.S. Census data. The figures underscore the unequal distribution of homeownership across the state, though they do not establish the reasons for those differences.