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Consumer Finance Insights
May 26, 2015

HUD Settles Fair Housing Claim with Regional Bank for $200 Million

​​The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with a regional bank over a disparate treatment fair housing claim.  HUD alleged that the bank engaged in racially discriminatory redlining by lending less in majority-minority census tracks than in other neighborhoods.  Under the settlement, the bank agreed to invest nearly $200 million in mortgage loans and pay $10 million in reduced interest rate mortgages to qualified borrowers in majority-minority census tracts.  The bank also agreed to provide nearly $3 million to affordable home repair grants in minority census tracts; commit $1.4 million to affirmative marketing of loans in minority neighborhoods; and spend $1.35 million on community reinvestment and fair lending education.  The bank will additionally open four loan production offices in minority neighborhoods and offer fair housing training to all employees.