A federal judge handed another blow to the Trump administration’s attempts to prematurely end redlining settlement obligations for mortgage lenders. Pennsylvania-based ESSA Bank must follow the terms of its 2023 agreement for three more years, a federal judge ruled this week. The Department of Justice in recent months argued the lender had met the fair […]
Judge rejects DOJ’s bid to end bank’s redlining settlement Read More »
Black Americans have long faced an uphill struggle to homeownership, and new data suggests that those problems aren’t going away anytime soon. Black homebuyers are 1.7 times more likely to be denied a mortgage than other races, according to the latest report from Lendingtree. In 2024, 19% of Black applicants were denied mortgages, significantly higher
Black Americans still struggle to get mortgages, study finds Read More »
Three fair housing organizations are asking to weigh in on a federal case where the Department of Justice is seeking to end a redlining settlement with Lakeland Bank — an effort the DOJ and the bank both oppose. The nonprofits — New Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund, the Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania, and the
Redlining deal dispute pits DOJ against advocates Read More »
The Trump administration is moving swiftly to roll back Biden-era redlining enforcement. Federal courts in recent weeks have terminated five consent orders with mortgage lenders, which stemmed from redlining probes by the prior administration. The Department of Justice claimed those companies satisfied the terms of their settlements months and years before their expiration, freeing them
DOJ quietly axes more redlining settlements with lenders Read More »
Bloomberg News A federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s effort to undo a redlining settlement between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a Chicago mortgage lender whose CEO made comments on a talk-radio show that the agency had alleged discouraged potential Black homebuyers from applying for home loans. On Thursday, District Court Judge Franklin U.
Judge rejects CFPB motion to undo redlining settlement Read More »
A federal judge on Thursday blocked an attempt by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to reverse a $105,000 settlement with Townstone Financial, a Chicago-based mortgage broker accused of discouraging Black applicants. U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama ruled that allowing the CFPB to unwind the deal, finalized last year, “would erode public confidence in the
Judge blocks CFPB bid to undo Townstone redlining settlement Read More »
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg The Department of Justice, which recently terminated one Biden-era fair lending consent order, is now pushing to free another bank from its obligations under a three-year-old redlining settlement. The DOJ filed an unopposed motion last week asking a federal judge to dismiss the department’s consent order with New Jersey-based Lakeland Bank more than
DOJ seeks early end to NJ bank’s redlining consent order Read More »