The


U.S.
Department
of
Justice
(DOJ)

announced
this
week
that
it
has
secured
$107
million
in
judgments
and
enforcement
actions
against
banks
and
mortgage
lenders
to

combat
the
practice
of
lenders’
avoidance
of
providing
credit
services
to
people
living
or
seeking
to
live
in
communities
of
color
because
of
race,
color
or
national
origin,
otherwise
known
as

“redlining.”

A
part
of
the
$107
million
total
includes
a
$9
million
settlement
with

Ameris
Bank
regarding
allegations
that
it
had
engaged
in
redlining
in
predominantly
Black
and
Hispanic
neighborhoods
in
the
Jacksonville,
Fla.
area,
which
is
currently
pending
court
approval.

“As
today’s
case
makes
clear,
redlining
is
not
just
a
relic
of
the
past,”
said
U.S.
Attorney
General
Merrick
Garland.
“That
is
why,
two
years
ago
this
month,
the
Justice
Department
launched
our
Combating
Redlining
Initiative,
and
once
today’s
settlement
is
approved,
that
Initiative
will
have
secured
more
than
$100
million
for
communities
across
the
country
that
have
been
harmed
by
discriminatory
lending
practices.”

Garland
further
detailed
the
settlement
and
alleged
violations
of
Ameris
in

public
remarks
on
Thursday,
saying
that
the
DOJ
complaint
“alleges
that
the
bank
located
its
branches
in
specific
areas
of
Jacksonville
to
serve
majority-white
neighborhoods
and
to
avoid
serving
Black
and
Hispanic
neighborhoods,”
Garland
said.

“This
included
failing
to
open
even
a
single
branch
in
a
majority-Black
and
Hispanic
neighborhood
in
Jacksonville,
despite
having
opened
18
full-service
branches
in
other
parts
of
Jacksonville,”
he
explained.

Garland
added
that
the
initiative’s
work
“is
just
the
beginning
–
the
Justice
Department
currently
has
over
two
dozen
active
investigations
into
redlining,
spanning
neighborhoods
across
the
country.”

The
DOJ

launched
its
Combating
Redlining
initiative
in
October
2021,
alongside
the

Office
of
the
Comptroller
of
the
Currency
(OCC)
and
the


Consumer
Financial
Protection
Bureau
(CFPB).
The
agencies
pledged
to
“address
fair
lending
concerns
on
a
broader
geographic
scale
than
the
DOJ
has
ever
before,”
Garland
said
at
the
time.

The
DOJ
also
detailed
that
it
would
draw
on
its

partnership
with
the
CFPB,
as
well
as
with
financial
regulatory
agencies,
including
the
OCC.

With
the
latest
settlement
included,
Garland
added
that
the
DOJ
has
secured
a
total
of
10
settlements
since
the
launch
of
the
initiative
two
years
ago.

“In
each
of
these
cases,
we
reached
resolutions
that
involved
lenders
making
significant
financial
investments
to
remedy
their
alleged
discrimination,”
Garland
said.
“In
addition
to
monetary
restitution,
our
redlining
settlements
also
require
lenders
to
adopt
meaningful
changes
to
their
business
practices
to
promote
fair
lending.”

For
its
part,
Ameris
said
that
the
settlement

does
not
mean
that
the
bank
agrees
with
the
allegations
levied
by
the
DOJ.

“We
strongly
disagree
with
any
suggestion
that
we
have
engaged
in
discriminatory
conduct
and
are
confident
in
our
efforts
to
provide
equal
access
to
affordable
mortgage
products
in
the
Jacksonville
community
and
all
the
markets
we
serve,”
said
Palmer
Proctor,
CEO
of
Ameris.

Proctor
added
that
Ameris
“cooperated
fully
with
the
Department’s
inquiry
and
have
entered
into
this
settlement
to
avoid
the
distraction
of
litigation
and
because
we
share
the
Department’s
goal
of
expanding
access
to
homeownership
in
underserved
areas.”

Garland
ended
his
public
remarks
on
Thursday
by
reiterating
the
DOJ’s
position
and
forward-looking
posture.

“Redlining
is
unlawful;
it
is
harmful;
and
it
is
wrong,”
he
said.
“Lending
discrimination
has
no
place
in
our
country.
The
Justice
Department
will
continue
to
combat
the
redlining
that
harms
families
and
neighborhoods
for
generations.
And
we
will
continue
to
pursue
justice
on
their
behalf.”