September 30th(St. Louis, MO) – Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced it reached a $975,000 settlement with Eagle Bank and Trust.
The complaint originated from a comment letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which was filed by St. Louis Metropolitan Equal Housing and Opportunity Council (EHOC), on behalf of all of the members of St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance (SLEHCRA). This comment letter prompted the FDIC to refer the case to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The complaint was a redlining case based on the bank’s branch locations, assessment areas, and low levels of mortgage lending to predominantly African American communities in St. Louis.
To resolve the complaint, Eagle Bank and Trust entered into a consent order that includes the following commitments:
– Two new bank branches, which includes the branch at 4100 Lindell, as well as another branch to be located in a predominantly African-American census tract within St. Louis City.
– Hiring of a Director of Community Development.
– $100,000 for Advertising and Marketing to minority communities, over the next four years.
– $75,000 for Financial Education and Credit Repair activities, over the next four years.
– A total of $800,000 in loan subsides for mortgages and small business loans in predominantly Africa-American census tracts. Loan subsidies could include lower interest rates, downpayment assistance, and closing costs paid to qualified borrowers.
“SLEHCRA is pleased that we have seen our regulatory agencies engage in addressing the growing problem of redlining. In a city known for extreme levels of neighborhood-level segregation, seeing financial institutions commit to increasing their commitment to communities of color gives us hope that we will be able to build a more unified and equitable St. Louis. We applaud all parties for coming to an agreement with significant commitments to underserved neighborhoods in North St. Louis City,” said Elisabeth Risch, Co-Chair of SLEHCRA.
Copies of the DOJ’s complaint and consent order are available online on the DOJ’s website.
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