Report Details Redlining of Native Lands

"REDLINING THE RESERVATION: The Brutal Cost Of Financial Services Inaccessibility In Native Communities"

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and the Native Community Capital have just released in December, 2023 an analytical report detailing the severe negatives of the lack of accessibility to financial services by residents of Native Land Areas. These formerly-called "Indian reservations" have much lower levels of economic prosperity and poorer life chances than other Americans.

This is especially relevant now because in late 2023 new Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) regulations specifically included Native Land Areas for the first time. These regulations are aimed at reducing the practice of redlining – the intentional exclusion by banks of minority, immigrant, and poor communities from financial services. Redlining denies creditworthy applicants housing loans in specific neighborhoods, irrespective of their eligibility.

The major findings of the report are:

(1) Traditional mortgage lending is failing Native American families because loan capital should instead flow through Native-led financial institutions aware of the administrative issues, geography, and culture of tribal lands. None of the three largest home lenders in the U.S. issue federally-guaranteed mortgages for the construction of new permanent homes in tribal lands. Therefore, little credit is promoting wealth-building via Native Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), which are often focused exclusively on addressing the lack of access to capital in tribal communities.

(2) Half of all home purchase loans on tribal lands are used to purchase manufactured mobile homes. This is four times the rate elsewhere. Native Americans who succeed in getting a mortgage are often using it to purchase a dwelling that will decrease in value rather than foster generational wealth-building. As a result, wealth is flowing from already-impoverished Native communities because of high-cost lending on low-value housing to financier Warren Buffett, whose firms have a monopoly on manufactured home lending in the report's study area.

(3) Tribal lands received less than 1% of that loaned to small businesses in Arizona and New Mexico, starving Native American communities of economic opportunity. From 2018 to 2021, 0.004% of small business dollars loaned in Arizona and 0.012% in New Mexico went to borrowers on tribal lands. The average census tract on tribal land received only five small business loans, compared to 82 such loans made on average to non-tribal tracts.

(4) Tribal areas have far higher quantified financial need than other rural areas. The financial needs index indicates significantly worse access in tribal areas, meaning that people living on Tribal Lands are not being served nearly as well as other residents of Arizona and New Mexico.

Read the December 2023 NCRC report.

Download the report

DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT

HOW TO REPORT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION WITH HUD

https://www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint

If you believe your rights may have been violated, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) encourages you to report housing discrimination. Because there are time limits on when an allegation can be filed with HUD after an alleged violation, you should report housing discrimination as soon as possible. When reporting housing discrimination, please provide as much information as possible, including:

• Your name and address.
• The name and address of the person(s) or organization your allegation is against.
• The address or other identification of the housing or program involved.
• A short description of the event(s) that cause you to believe your rights were violated.
• The date(s) of the alleged violation.

Report Housing Discrimination Now

What is Housing Discrimination?

Discrimination under the Fair Housing Act (including housing that is privately owned and operated) is:

• Discrimination in renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities.
• Discrimination on the basis of: race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status, disability).

Who May File an Allegation - Anyone who has been or will be harmed by a discriminatory housing practice.

Who May Have an Allegation Filed Against Them - Property owners, property managers, developers, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, homeowners associations, insurance providers, and others who affect housing opportunities.

You can Report Housing Discrimination with HUD

ONLINE in English (also available in Español, 中文, Tiếng Việt, 한국인, العربية, Русский, ខ្មែរ, and Soomaali).

BY PHONE. HUD speaks your language! Talk with a HUD intake specialist by calling: 1-800-669-9777. You can also call your regional FHEO office at the phone numbers on this list.

BY MAIL. You can print out this form (also available in Español, 繁體中文, Tiếng Việt, 한국인, عربي, Русский, ខ្មែរ, and Soomaali) and mail it to your regional HUD office at the address on this list.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities

HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit Telecommunications Relay Service - TRS.

Assistance for Persons with Limited English Proficiency

You can report housing discrimination in any language. For persons with limited English proficiency, HUD provides interpreters. HUD also provides a Spanish language version of the online report housing discrimination form. You can find descriptions of your fair housing rights in several languages other than English here.

Retaliation Is Illegal

It is illegal to retaliate against any person for making an allegation, testifying, assisting, or participating in any manner in a proceeding under HUD’s allegation process at any time, even after the investigation has been completed. 

It is illegal to retaliate against any person because that person reported a discriminatory practice to a housing provider or other authority. 

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) also makes it illegal for a public housing agency, owner, or manager of housing assisted under a VAWA covered housing program to retaliate against someone for seeking or exercising VAWA protections for themself or another. This includes protection for people who testify, assist, or participate in any VAWA matter on their own, or another’s, behalf. 

If you believe you have experienced retaliation, you should report housing discrimination!

Types of Allegations Investigated

HUD investigates allegations, which may be one or both of the following:

(1) Discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

(2) Discrimination and other civil rights violations in housing and community development programs, including those funded by HUD.

(3) Discrimination Under the Violence Against Women Act.

Additional Resources

Learn About the Reporting Process

Get Help Before Reporting Housing Discrimination

Reporting in Languages Other than English

Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act

HUD Multifamily Housing Complaints

Housing Choice Voucher and Public Housing Complaints

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Source of Information: HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.

 CFPB Orders Citi to Pay $25.9 Million for Illegal Discrimination Against Armenian Americans

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Citi to pay $25.9 million in fines and consumer redress for intentionally and illegally discriminating against credit card applicants the bank identified as Armenian American. From 2015-2021, Citi rejected applicants for certain credit card products, based on their surnames, whom it suspected of being of Armenian descent. Citi supervisors hid the discrimination by instructing employees not to discuss the discrimination in writing or on recorded phone lines. Citi employees also lied about the basis of denial, providing false reasons to denied applicants. Under the order, Citi will pay $1.4 million to harmed consumers and a $24.5 million penalty.

Citibank, N.A. is a national bank headquartered in New York City that issues consumer credit cards, including retail services credit cards for companies like Home Depot and Best Buy. Citi’s parent company is Citigroup (NYSE: C), a global financial services holding company. As of June 30, 2023, Citi had $1.7 trillion in total assets – making it the third-largest bank by asset size in the U.S.

In essence, Citi treated Armenian Americans as criminals who were likely to commit fraud. From at least 2015 through 2021, Citi identified retail services credit card applicants with surnames that Citi employees associated with Armenian national origin as well as applicants in or around Glendale, California. The bank specifically targeted surnames ending in “-ian” and “-yan.” Nicknamed “Little Armenia,” Glendale has approximately 15% of the Armenian American population.

Intentionally denying credit based on national origin is illegal under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  Specifically, Citi harmed consumers by:

• Denying credit applications because of borrowers’ ancestry: Citi’s supervisors taught employees how to discriminate against people of perceived Armenian descent using surname suffixes. When Citi identified applicants as possibly having Armenian national origin using this method, the bank used more stringent criteria to evaluate their applications, including denying them totally and requiring additional information or blocking the account. 
• Giving borrowers fake reasons for credit denials: When Citi denied credit applications because of applicants’ perceived Armenian national origin, Citi employees lied about the specific reasons for the adverse actions. For example, a Citi employee explained it had been a while since they had discriminated against a perceived Armenian, and wanted to learn how to cover up the discrimination. S/he was told to decline the credit card application due to suspected credit abuse, which essentially blamed the applicant for the denial.

Under the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the CFPB has the authority to take action against institutions violating consumer financial protection laws, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing Regulation B. 

The CFPB’s order requires Citi to: (1) pay $1.4 million to affected consumers: Consumers who applied for a Citi Retail Services Credit Card between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2021, and are identified as having been denied the credit card based on national origin discrimination are eligible for redress; and pay a $24.5 million fine to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

Read today’s order.

Consent Order 

Stipulation 

Read the November 8, 2023 CFPB release.

View case filings

 FAIR HOUSING E-NEWS

October, 2023

 

Welcome to this edition of Fair Housing E-News! This newsletter is produced by the GBCHRB as a public service. More info/resources: http://www.gbchrb.org. Just a few of the headlines are:

Baltimore Civil Rights Week 2023 is October 30-November 3^rd. Civil Rights Week 2023 is held by the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights (OECR). Civil Rights Week 2023 Sponsorship Packages.

 Project Begun to Increase Accessibility of Baltimore-Area Houses of Worship. To help religious leaders make their houses of worship more welcoming to people with disabilities and their families, the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities has started its Faith Community Learning Collaborative. : Read the September 11, 2023 Baltimore Sun article.

 Massachusetts Study of Housing Mobility Program Finds Positive Results. Read the Full Report and Executive Summary.

Study Links Historic Redlining to Worse Cardiovascular Health for Veterans. Read the July16, 2023 Washington Post article.

2022 Saw the Highest Rate of Recorded Antisemitic Incidents in the US and Maryland Sees Antisemitic Graffiti and Noxious High School Behavior. Read the October 13, 2023 CNN article. Read the September 20, 2023 CBS News report. Read the September 20, 2023 WBALTV article.

 Florida Bank that Denied Loans to Blacks, Hispanics to Pay $9 Million. Read the October 19, 2023 Washington Post article.

To read this issue of Fair Housing E-News: fhnews2023oct.pdf.

Contact the GBCHRB for free Fair Housing training.

GBCHRB 

P. O. Box 66180

Baltimore, Maryland 21239-6180

http://www.gbchrb.org

443.347.3701 

46th Anniversary of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)

 Important Law Against Lending Discrimination Celebrated

The following is from an October 12, 2023 email blast from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) which works to lessen mortgage lending discrimination.

Tomorrow, October 12, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) turns 46! As we excitedly await the new federal rule that is both long overdue and essential, we reflect upon what CRA has done in the last four decades, and what it could do for underserved communities all across America with the proper updates and modernization.  Join us tomorrow, all day across all social media platforms, as we acknowledge and celebrate the Community Reinvestment Act. Here are some sample messages and graphic to encourage your participation.

CRA Birthday Toolkit

CRA requires banks to meet the credit needs of all communities, including LMI areas, consistent with the safety and soundness of the banks’ operations. The law created a framework wherein community organizations, banking regulatory agencies and financial institutions interact in assessing how well a financial institution is meeting the needs of disadvantaged communities. This framework has proven critical in promoting greater investment and service in areas that banks might otherwise disregard.    NCRC and our members have used the CRA to negotiate community benefits agreements (CBAs) with 21 different banks, totaling over $574 billion in loans and investments for affordable housing, small businesses, economic development and bank branches in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color.   Let’s celebrate CRA and encourage the banking regulators to release the rule we have all been waiting for!   Thanks for all that you do, Team NCRC

Copyright © 2023 NCRC, All rights reserved. Manage Preferences/Unsubscribe

National Community Reinvestment Coalition 740 15th St NW, Suite 400 Washington,DC 20005

HUD Charges New York Landlord with Disability Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Lakeview Avenue, LLC (“Lakeview”) in Rensselaer, New York, and its employees with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing a tenant’s request for a disability-related reasonable accommodation to keep an assistance animal and subjecting the tenant to retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation. Read the Charge.

The Fair Housing Act legally outlaws discrimination and retaliation based on disability, including the failing to grant reasonable accommodations and interfering with tenants' rights protected by the Act.

HUD’s charge alleges that Lakeview refused a tenant’s request to allow her disabled child to have an assistance animal in her unit. Though they provided medical documentation documenting the child’s need for the animal, Lakeview still denied the reasonable accommodation and impose onerous and discriminatory conditions. After another request for a reasonable accommodation, the tenant received a notice to vacate her unit and had to move to another, more expensive, apartment within her daughter’s school district

A U. S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, they may award damages to the individuals for their losses as a result of the discrimination, injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If the federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the Complainants.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 800-669-9777 (voice) or 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications to individuals with disabilities here. Materials and assistance are available for persons with limited English proficiency. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact the Department using the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

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Read the September 25, 2023 HUD release.

Free Hate Bias Reporting Forum

 Hate Bias Reporting Forum is on September 29th

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Join us at our LIVE forum that brings together law enforcement and the community to improve hate bias reporting. To register, click on the picture above or click HERE. Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships HOME      ABOUT MCCR      SERVICES      PUBLICATIONS      EVENTS      PRESS      CONTACT US

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