Primus Financial Services, an affiliate of Ford Motor Credit Corp., agreed to pay nearly $2.5 million as part of a settlement in a car loan discrimination case... Primus did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement and indicated it was settling the lawsuit primarily because of its mounting costs... U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger ended the two-week trial last March by saying the plaintiffs proved that lending practices of Primus were discriminatory against minorities.