Memphis Bank Settles Allegations of Discriminating Against Majority-Black and Hispanic Neighborhoods

Lori Kalani, Bernard Nash
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  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) reached a settlement with Trustmark National Bank (“Trustmark”) to resolve allegations that it discriminated against Black and Hispanic borrowers in the Memphis, Tennessee, area in violation of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Fair Housing Act, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and its implementing regulation, Regulation B.
  • The complaint, filed concurrently with the proposed consent order, alleged that Trustmark discouraged applicants from majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods from applying for mortgages, including by not locating branches in and not assigning lending officers to such neighborhoods. In addition, Trustmark allegedly failed to monitor its policies and procedures for compliance with fair lending laws and regulations.
  • Under the terms of the proposed consent order, Trustmark will fund a $3.85 million loan subsidy program for impacted neighborhoods and will be subject to a $5 million civil money penalty to the CFPB, of which the CFPB will credit $4 million for a penalty collected by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Trustmark also agreed to open a new lending office in a majority-Black and Hispanic Memphis neighborhood, to fund targeted advertising to generate applications for mortgage loans in majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, and to develop and offer consumer education programs for a period of five years. In addition, Trustmark will submit annual reports about its compliance with the consent order for a period of five years, among other things.
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