The institution, the second largest in the country, “violated a federal law that thousands of mortgage lenders have routinely followed for decades,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. According to the organization, Bank of America workers they avoided asking some mortgage applicants key demographic data, such as race or gender, then indicating in their reports that these applicants They had refused to give that information.

These demographic data, required by laware important to “monitor whether financial institutions are responding to the housing needs of their communities and to identify possible patterns of loan discriminatory,” the CFPB recalled.

Furthermore, the organization accused the bank of “turning a blind eye” to this problem, since in 2013 he knew that some of his employees were not collecting the right information during his telephone interviews with mortgage applicants but decided to do nothing.

The fine money will go to the CFPB’s victim fund. It is the second time this year that Bank of America has received a penalty from the government agency, after being forced to pay $200 million in May for charging “junk rates” or opening fake accounts.