Washington, Jan 17 (EFE).- Patriot Bank will pay $1.9 million to resolve a complaint for discrimination against Latinos and African Americans in Memphis (Tennessee), the United States Department of Justice reported this Wednesday.
According to the Government, the banking institution engaged in a pattern of conduct known as ‘redlining’, which consists of avoiding the provision of credit services to people who live in (or seek to move to) communities of people of color due to race. or the national origin of the residents.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to eliminating discriminatory lending practices nationwide and we will act vigorously to hold lenders accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement. release.
According to the government investigation, from 2015 until at least 2020, Patriot avoided providing mortgage services to majority Black and Latino neighborhoods in Memphis, and discouraged customers seeking credit in those communities from obtaining home loans. living place.
In that same period, according to the government, other banks received almost 3.5 times more loan applications than Patriot in Memphis’ majority Latino and African-American neighborhoods.
“Even though Patriot did approve loan applications from majority African American and Latino areas, the applicants were disproportionately white,” the statement added.
As a result of the settlement, the bank will invest at least $1.3 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase access to mortgages, home improvement loans and refinancing for residents in majority African American and Latino neighborhoods.
The remainder of the stipulated amount will be dedicated to community education on financial matters, investments in community partnerships to increase access to mortgage credit, and ensuring that there will be at least two mortgage brokers dedicated to serving majority African American and Latino neighborhoods. EFE
jab/msc
2024-01-17 20:21:38
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