The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department said Wednesday it would investigate charges almost two dozen lenders have unfairly denied U.S. government-backed mortgages to qualified loan applicants.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition filed a fair housing complaint with HUD against 22 lenders that offer loans guaranteed by HUD’s Federal Housing Administration.

“We thank NCRC for bringing these complaints to HUD. For lenders to deny responsible home seekers this source of credit, without regard for their capacity to repay the loans, would raise serious fair housing concerns and, if proven, undermine our nation’s recovery efforts,” HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity John Trasvina said in a prepared statement.