DOJ Reports $3.6MM+ Fair Lending Settlement

The DOJ reported a $3.6MM+ settlement with a bank in the Detroit, Michigan area, for supposed violations of the federal Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.


The DOJ alleged that the bank and its predecessor allegedly "served the credit needs of the residents of predominantly white neighborhoods in the Detroit metropolitan area to a significantly greater extent than they have served the credit needs of majority African-American neighborhoods."


A copy of the complaint is available at:

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/documents/citizenscomp.pdf


Upon approval and entry by the court, the agreed settlement order will the bank to: (1) open a loan production office in an African-American neighborhood in the City of Detroit and hire two community lenders; and

(2) invest approximately $3.6MM in the formerly redlined majority African-American areas of Wayne County (Detroit), including $1.5 million in a special financing program to increase the amount of credit the bank extends in those areas, $1.625MM in matching grants with the City of Detroit of up to $5,000 per individual to existing homeowners for exterior improvements, and $500,000 in advertising, marketing, and consumer financial education targeted to those affected areas.

A copy of the agreed settlement order is available at:

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/hce/documents/citizenssettle.pdf

The agreement also prohibits the bank from discriminating on the basis of race or color in any aspect of a residential real estate-related or credit transaction.

The lawsuit originated from a 2010 referral by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.