Wells Fargo taking the search of good credit risk too far?

A couple sought a mortgage from Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and ended up being creeped out, as the bank asked a lot of personal questions, including questions about their family planning intentions, according to an interesting article in the New York Times. They were also asked to write a "motivational letter" about why they are moving.

It all seems odd. I can understand a lender wanting to land good credit risks, as if it was going to really hold the loan. But making loan decisions based on a borrower's family status or future plans violates the Fair Housing Act, "which prohibits discrimination in lending based on disability, sex or family status--including pregnancy or having children in the family."

Wells Fargo told the paper that "under no circumstances would any information about family status be used by Wells Fargo as the basis for a decision on a loan application." So why is it seeking this data? It may be a case of a bank acting a bit overzealously.

We're seeing more of this. A previous NYT article looked at banks that were factoring in parents' plans to return to the workforce after spending time at home caring for a child. My sense is that Wells Fargo will slightly tweak its application.

For more:
- here's the Times article

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