The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday, Oct. 19, a milestone in its work to dismantle redlining in Black and brown communities.
Through its “Combating Redlining Initiative,” the DOJ has secured $107 million in relief funds to go back into the communities that have been victimized by discriminatory mortgage practices by banks and other mortgage lending businesses.
The DOJ also announced that it reached a $9 million agreement with Ameris Bank to bring resolution to allegations that the bank “engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
The practice of redlining is illegal.
It’s a process where lenders, because of a person’s race, color, or national origin, will avoid providing credit services to people who live in or seek to live in communities of color.
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The U.S. government’s complaint alleged that between 2016 and 2021, Ameris Bank avoided providing mortgage services to predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Jacksonville and discouraged credit-seeking individuals in those communities from obtaining home loans.
Records showed that Ameris Bank’s home mortgage lending disproportionately favored white areas in Jacksonville, while other lenders received three times as many applications from majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
DOJ also pointed out that despite Ameris having 18 branches in Jacksonville, the bank never established a branch in a majority-Black and brown neighborhood in the city.
In light of the evidence presented by the DOJ, the bank has agreed to pay the initiative $9 million, ending the litigation.
“As today’s case makes clear, redlining is not just a relic of the past. That is why, two years ago this month, the Justice Department launched our Combating Redlining Initiative,” said U.S. Attorney General…
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