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.
Ralph T. Wutscher
McGinnis Tessitore Wutscher LLP
The Loop Center Building
105 W. Madison Street, 18th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Direct: (312) 551-9320
Fax: (312) 284-4751
Mobile: (312) 493-0874
Email: RWutscher@mtwllp.com
http://www.mtwllp.com
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