DOJ says First National Bank discriminated against Black, Latino borrowers in North Carolina
The Justice Department says First National Bank discriminated against Black and Latino homebuyers in North Carolina for a period of at least four years, the latest in a long list of banks caught redlining homes.
NEW YORK — The First National Bank of Pennsylvania discriminated against black and Latino homebuyers in North Carolina for a period of at least four years, the Justice Department said Monday, the latest in a long list of banks caught redlining.
The Justice Department said FNB will pay $13.5 million to settle the redlining costs, most of which will go into a fund to help subsidize loans for Black and Latino borrowers in Charlotte and Winston-Salem, two housing markets where the DOJ found discrimination.
In its complaint, the DOJ alleges that First National closed branches in majority-minority neighborhoods, failed to offer mortgage services to potential Black and Latino borrowers, and ignored entire neighborhoods for potential loans. The DOJ found that lenders of comparable size and scope to First National made two to four times as many loans to minority borrowers as First National from 2017 to 2021.
The case stems from when FNB bought Yadkin Bank, a regional bank in the Carolinas, in 2017. While FNB says the bad behavior at Yadkin occurred before the acquisition, the DOJ said any bank that buys another bank should be held responsible for the banking acquired. actions of the bank.
“The playing field is not level, and that is not what we want for the people of North Carolina,” said North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.
This is the 13th redlining settlement the Biden administration has filed against banks since 2021. Under Attorney General Merrick Garland, the Justice Department created a Redlining Taskforce to focus on racial discrimination in the financial services industry in a way few governments have done in recent years. past.
The DOJ filed the largest redlining lawsuit in history in 2023 against Los Angeles-based City National Bank, which also allegedly discriminated against Black and Latino communities during a similar period, from 2017 to 2020.