As any bank professional regulatory compliance professional knows redlining is the hottest issue today and has been since Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the “Combatting Redlining Initiative” in October 2021. Since...more
In emails in recent months we've warned bankers about the extremely aggressive enforcement of anti-redlining policies. This is becoming more and more obvious every day as more banks get threatened with referral to the DOJ....more
There has been much understandable handwringing about the new CRA and its complexity as well as the high CRA exam failure rate predicted by regulators based on the new assessment areas and the higher performance standards...more
Recently, my son took an online college course about social justice in the as-built environment. One topic in the class was redlining – a practice that limited the availability of affordable home loans for minorities. ...more
As I write this article the Department of Justice is pursuing a record-breaking number of “redlining” cases against banks and mortgage lenders. The “Anti-redlining Initiative” was announced October 22, 2021, by Attorney...more
Recently the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a proposed consent order with Ameris Bank to resolve allegations of redlining from 2016 through 2021 in majority Black and Hispanic areas in the Bank’s Jacksonville,...more
A&B Abstract: Furthering the Justice Department’s Combating Redlining Initiative, the Department of Justice has announced another redlining settlement. But this settlement is different – this one involves a bank that has...more
The Justice Department announced that it has entered into an agreement with Lakeland Bank to settle the DOJ’s claims that Lakeland engaged in unlawful redlining in the Newark, New Jersey metropolitan area. The DOJ’s lawsuit...more
As we reported in May, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) (together, the “Agencies”) issued a notice of proposed...more
At the beginning of his term, President Biden declared that his administration would make it a policy to eliminate “racial bias and other forms of discrimination in all states of home-buying and renting.”...more
The U.S. Department of Justice announced last Thursday that it had reached an agreement with First Merchants Bank, an Indiana state-chartered bank, to settle the redlining lawsuit that the DOJ filed against the bank on June...more
Hiding somewhat in the shadows during the rise of virtual currencies over the past year or two has been blockchain, the ledger technology that undergirds bitcoin and other cryptos, and its potential application beyond digital...more
On May 8, 2018, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) settled its fair lending “redlining” lawsuit against Minnesota-based KleinBank, a family-owned bank with assets of more than $1.9 billion. The settlement follows...more
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week that it has reached an agreement with KleinBank, a state-chartered Minnesota bank, to settle the redlining lawsuit that the DOJ filed against the bank in January...more
We previously reported on the Executive Order 13772 titled “Core Principles for Regulating the United States Financial System,” which is a high-level policy statement consisting of a series of Core Principles that are...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently commenced a redlining lawsuit against KleinBank, a state-chartered Minnesota bank subject to the regulatory authority of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The...more
The Federal Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) requires regulated financial institutions to focus on meeting “the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered.” See 12 U.S.C. § 2901(a)(3). Under the CRA,...more
The CFPB, DOJ, and Hudson City Savings Bank, F.S.B. (“Hudson City”) recently entered into the largest residential mortgage redlining settlement in DOJ history. On September 24, 2015, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Entry...more
New York City banks are breathing a sigh of relief after a federal judge ruled that they would not have to provide detailed servicing disclosures under a preempted city law. The law, a gloss on top of the federal Community...more
On September 24, 2015, the CFPB and DOJ announced a joint action against Hudson City Savings Bank for allegedly discriminatory redlining practices from 2009 through 2013 in certain neighborhoods in New York, New Jersey,...more
Consistent with recent indications from CFPB and Department of Justice officials that more redlining cases would soon be coming, the CFPB and DOJ have announced a proposed consent order with Hudson City Savings Bank to settle...more
On September 24, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a joint action against Hudson City Savings Bank, F.S.B. (Hudson). The complaint alleges that Hudson...more