An Indiana bank is facing a federal lawsuit after the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI) accused the business of lending to only 37 Black borrowers, out of more than 2,250 who applied for mortgages between 2019 and 2020. Old National Bank, operating in the area of Indianapolis, Carmel, and Anderson, Indiana, identified more than 91% of borrowers by race and "deliberately" practiced housing discrimination against Black applicants, the FHCCI said in its complaint filed Wednesday and later obtained by The Indianapolis Star.
Amy Nelson, executive director of FHCCI, said in a news release about the two-year period of analysis that Old National Bank made only 23 loans to Black borrowers in Marion County, the largest county in the state. “Over the time period reviewed, Old National Bank has been one of the worst performers in making mortgage loans to Black home-seekers in Central Indiana,” Nelson stated in the release. “Old National’s peer lenders did a substantially better job at serving the credit needs of Black residents. In Marion County, the four peers reviewed made 14.73% of their loans to Blacks, a proportion that is 3.82 times greater than that of Old National with their paltry 23 loans.”
Seeking a trial by jury, attorneys stated in the lawsuit:
Redlining, the practice of refusing someone a home loan on the basis of ethnicity, race, or religion, particularly in a primarily white area or under the guise of “financial risk,” was outlawed with the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but it hasn’t stopped racists from using other tactics to block Black people from acquiring property. In California, Black residents of the noted and affluent Sugar Hill community successfully staved off "racially restrictive covenants" for years, only to have a freeway built through their community, effectively erasing it, NPR reported.
Mark Alston, a real estate broker, told NPR while some argue that "risk-based pricing" is fair, "'fair' is an interesting concept" when it rides the coattails of 350 years of exclusionary zoning laws. "I could[n’t] care less about Black Lives Matter being painted on [a] basketball court," he said. "How about an affirmative program to lower the gap between white and Black homeownership? How about actual public policy that moves the needle, for real? How about a change in employment and pay that narrows the gap, the inequities between white and black pay? How about those types of things that will make a difference for future generations?"
Old National Bank wrote in a statement obtained by The Indianapolis Star that the banking business "strongly and categorically denies the claims made by the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana regarding certain lending practices.”
“Old National is committed to engaging in fair and equal lending practices," the company continued.
Nelson told The Indianapolis Star that Old National Bank "disproportionately" closed branches in Black areas, treated Black people in tests conducted by FHCCI "less favorably" than white testers, and merged with another bank accused of redlining in 2018.
“We are calling on the Federal Reserve to do what it is required to do,” Nelson told the newspaper, “and conduct a thorough analysis and to address any disparities that is occurring to make sure that Old National’s lending practices are fair to everybody.”
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Amy Nelson, executive director of FHCCI, said in a news release about the two-year period of analysis that Old National Bank made only 23 loans to Black borrowers in Marion County, the largest county in the state. “Over the time period reviewed, Old National Bank has been one of the worst performers in making mortgage loans to Black home-seekers in Central Indiana,” Nelson stated in the release. “Old National’s peer lenders did a substantially better job at serving the credit needs of Black residents. In Marion County, the four peers reviewed made 14.73% of their loans to Blacks, a proportion that is 3.82 times greater than that of Old National with their paltry 23 loans.”
Seeking a trial by jury, attorneys stated in the lawsuit:
Redlining, the practice of refusing someone a home loan on the basis of ethnicity, race, or religion, particularly in a primarily white area or under the guise of “financial risk,” was outlawed with the Fair Housing Act of 1968, but it hasn’t stopped racists from using other tactics to block Black people from acquiring property. In California, Black residents of the noted and affluent Sugar Hill community successfully staved off "racially restrictive covenants" for years, only to have a freeway built through their community, effectively erasing it, NPR reported.
Mark Alston, a real estate broker, told NPR while some argue that "risk-based pricing" is fair, "'fair' is an interesting concept" when it rides the coattails of 350 years of exclusionary zoning laws. "I could[n’t] care less about Black Lives Matter being painted on [a] basketball court," he said. "How about an affirmative program to lower the gap between white and Black homeownership? How about actual public policy that moves the needle, for real? How about a change in employment and pay that narrows the gap, the inequities between white and black pay? How about those types of things that will make a difference for future generations?"
Old National Bank wrote in a statement obtained by The Indianapolis Star that the banking business "strongly and categorically denies the claims made by the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana regarding certain lending practices.”
“Old National is committed to engaging in fair and equal lending practices," the company continued.
Nelson told The Indianapolis Star that Old National Bank "disproportionately" closed branches in Black areas, treated Black people in tests conducted by FHCCI "less favorably" than white testers, and merged with another bank accused of redlining in 2018.
“We are calling on the Federal Reserve to do what it is required to do,” Nelson told the newspaper, “and conduct a thorough analysis and to address any disparities that is occurring to make sure that Old National’s lending practices are fair to everybody.”
RELATED: Homeowners associations are just as problematic as they've always been. Twitter users show why
RELATED: Turns out, fighting the temptation to strip property from Black families isn’t asking too much
RELATED: Bloomberg's defense of redlining comes back to haunt him during live debate
RELATED: Black homeowner went to 'strike conversation' with neighbor. He responded he doesn't have any money