The ACLU’s calss action lawsuit against Morgan Stanley over racial discrimination in lending is out. Five African-American homeowners from Detroit form the core of the plaintiffs, who allege that Morgan Stanley pushed the now-defunct New Century Financial into providing them with a “steady stream of irresponsible, high-risk loans issued in communities of color that were [...]

The ACLU plans to sue Morgan Stanley on behalf of five named plaintiffs (they will seek class action status), for the investment bank’s role in fueling what they view as a discriminatory subprime bubble. In doing so, the ACLU will try to pioneer a new legal strategy, by going after the securitizer of the loans [...]

Regarding last week’s disappointing announcement that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will roll back a Federal Reserve rule on introductory credit card fees for subprime borrowers, the explanation I’ve been given is that the court in South Dakota – which already ruled against the government on this – could stretch far further than upholding introductory [...]