JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO TARGET REDLINING BY BANKS

The U. S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced on October 22, 2021 a multi-government effort to investigate and prosecute redlining, the illegal practice of banks discriminating against racial minorities or certain neighborhoods. In the effort, the Justice Department, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also publicly announced that a filing of a new case  against Trustmark Bank for its allegedly discriminatory treatment of Black and Hispanic borrowers in Memphis, Tennessee. The USDOJ is currently investigating several redlining cases and expects it will be opening more in the coming months. The anti-redlining effort also will involve U.S. attorneys’ offices with local experience in these neighborhoods as well as state attorneys general. The CFPB will be focusing a lot of its effort on algorithmic redlining. Its director commented: “Digital redlining may simply ingrain old forms of discrimination.”

Despite the law, redlining has been continuing across the US, with very negative long-term effects on minority households. For example, the average net worth of a Black family is a small fraction of a typical white household, and homes in historically redlined neighborhoods are worth less than homes found in non-redlined communities. Far fewer Blacks own their homes than whites. The Census Bureau found that in 2020's first quarter 44% of Black families owned compared with 73.7% of White families.

This effort reverses that of the previous administration, which mostly did not pursue federal investigation of possible redlining cases. That administration brought its first redlining case in 2018, and largely dismantled the Civil Rights Division's investigatory expansion under the Obama administration.

The Justice Department, CFPB, and OCC reached a settlement against Trustmark National Bank that would satisfy allegations that the bank redlined against some Memphis neighborhods. Trustmark, a bank mostly in the South, will be required to open a mortgage office in a majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhood within the Memphis metro and contribute $3.85 million to a fund to create loan subsidies for borrowers in discriminated neighborhoods. This agreement also has the Bank making a civil $4 million payment to the OCC and a civil $1 million payment to the CFPB.

In a statement, Trustmark’s president/CEO said the bank entered into the settlements with the federal government “to avoid the distraction of protracted litigation and because we share the common goals of breaking down barriers to home financing and exploring innovative ways to help residents of underserved areas achieve the dream of homeownership.”

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/business-race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-tennessee-memphis-6008ad53f784c42ab2f4dc627e0af9c5.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/redlining-justice-lending-garland-crackdown/2021/10/22/33c527c0-3353-11ec-a1e5-07223c50280a_story.html.

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HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Birrane and the Maryland Department of Disabilities Secretary Carol Beatty will hear from invited panelists, interested stakeholders, and members of the public regarding Health Insurance Issues for People with Disabilities.

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 NEW FAIR HOUSING NEWS

Freddie Mac Study Finds Black And Latino Homeowners Are Almost Twice As Likely As Whites To Get Low Appraisals. Read the September 23, 2021 NPR article.

 NLIHC's “Out of Reach 2021: The High Cost of Housing” Report Finds Millions of Low-Income Renters Suffering Most. Out of Reach 2021: The High Cost of Housing. https://reports.nlihc.org/oor. Read the July 14, 2021 NLIHC release.

New Study Shows Negative Impact of Lynching History on Life Expectancy Today. New study. Read the Science Daily article.

 2020 FBI Hate Crimes Data is the Highest in 12 Years.  Interactive hate crime map  ADL Hate Crime Map. Read the August 30, 2021 ADL release.

 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data Shows Refi Boom During Pandemic, But Not for Black and Hispanic Homeowners Whose Share of Refinance Loans Declined. New analysis. https://ncrc.org/2020-hmda-preliminary-analysis/. Read the August 19, 2021 NCRC release.

Howard County Libraries Open Equity Resource Center About Racism, Culture, & History. https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-library-equity-resource-center-20210928-nduzxwn5rrgddghcpeazz7mdrq-story.html.

Study Finds US Loan Applicants of Color Were 40%–80% More Likely to be Denied than Their White Counterparts. In Some Metros, the Disparity Was Over 250%. Read the August 25, 2021 Markup article.

 And many more news stories are on this issue of he GBCHRB's Fair Housing E-News: fhnews21sepoct.pdf.

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Hello! Join us on Thursday, October 28 for NCRC’s free Fair Lending Tool webinar. Learn how you can use this powerful tool, available to all NCRC members, to produce a report on mortgages, small business lending and bank branch networks for any city, county or metro area in the nation.   Register now NCRC's Director of Research Jason Richardson will walk us through the tool using data on the Philadelphia MSA, highlighting key findings along the way. You'll also hear from local leaders about how they use this type of data to hold lenders accountable and work toward a just economy in their communities.  If you are not currently an NCRC member, join now to gain access to the Fair Lending Tool, along with many other benefits. Team NCRC

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 Howard County Libraries Open New Equity Resource Center About Racism, Culture, & History

The Howard County Library System on Monday unveiled a new Equity Resource Center and exhibit at the Central Branch in Columbia. The center houses a new equity collection of more than 9,000 fiction and nonfiction titles, featuring selections with themes such as the criminal justice system, emancipation, immigration and policing, according to a news release from the library system. The center, which was unveiled Monday afternoon before a crowd of community partners, also features the “Undesign the Redline” exhibit, which focuses on “redlining,” or the denial of services to residents of specific, often racially associated, communities or neighborhoods. The center aims to provide a space to educate community members on the experiences of people of different backgrounds and cultures, the library system said.

The “Undesign the Redline” exhibit, which was first hosted at the library in 2018, features an interactive timeline of instances of racial and social injustice throughout history from the Civil War to Black Lives Matter. The exhibit is currently scheduled to run through February.

The Equity Resource Center is located on the second floor of the Central Branch at 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. It also will show stories received through the Brave Voices Brave Choices initiative that started earlier this year. Community members are invited to reflect on personal experiences related to racism and discrimination by contributing stories through the library system’s website.

When there is not a formal library program, class or event in the space, residents are welcome to use the space informally, the release states.

People can tour the exhibit on their own, arrange private tours by emailing redline@hclibrary.org or registering for public tours at 11 a.m. Wednesdays and 2 p.m. Saturdays.

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Source: Allana Haynes, Baltimore Sun, September 28, 2021. 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/howard/cng-ho-library-equity-resource-center-20210928-nduzxwn5rrgddghcpeazz7mdrq-story.html