InfoBytes Blog
HUD approves settlement resolving redlining allegations
On July 29, HUD announced a conciliation agreement to resolve allegations that a California-based bank engaged in redlining practices from 2014 to at least 2017 against African-American and Latino mortgage applicants in the Los Angeles region. In 2017, a California-based community advocacy organization filed a complaint with HUD asserting that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act by engaging in discriminatory acts, which allegedly resulted in a lower number of mortgages made to African-American and Latino borrowers relative to the area’s demographics and to the industry as a whole. Additionally, the complaint claimed that the bank located and maintained its branches in areas that do not serve minority neighborhoods or borrowers. While the bank denies having engaged in any discriminatory behavior, it agreed to (i) invest $5 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase credit opportunities for residents of majority-minority neighborhoods; (ii) contribute $1.3 million to advertising and community outreach; and (iii) provide $1 million in grants for various financial education, counseling, community revitalization, and homelessness programs. The bank also committed to originating “$100,000,000 in home purchase, home improvement and home refinance loans to borrowers in majority-minority areas, and to open a full-service branch serving the banking and credit needs of residents in a majority-minority and low- and moderate-income neighborhood.”