US DOJ Investigating Lending Discrimination Against Native Americans
In a November 30, 2010 speech at the 2010 District of New Mexico Tribal Consultation conference, Thomas Perez , the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, confirmed that his Division is pursuing "several investigations" into potential lending discrimination against Native Americans.
[W]e know that minority communities were hit particularly hard in the foreclosure crisis, and we have created a Fair Lending unit to address any past and future credit discrimination. Access to credit is the foundation of wealth in our nation, and in order to have real equal opportunity, individuals must have equal access to credit. Particularly in communities where unemployment rates were already high pre-recession, as with many Native communities, it is critical that we remain vigilant in enforcing fair housing and fair lending laws to ensure they do not suffer even further.
Several years ago, the Civil Rights Division settled a lending case that alleged that a lender that operated in parts of the West and Southwest had refused to make loans to people who lived on Indian reservations. Age-old tactics like this unfortunately remain all too common, and we remain committed to aggressive enforcement – we currently have several investigations into potential lending discrimination against Native Americans based on the fact that they live in Indian country. Fair and equal access to credit is fundamental in providing economic opportunities to those in Indian Country and elsewhere, and we will not tolerate lenders that restrict access to consumer credit on equal terms because of a person's national origin and where they live.
Perez did not provide further details about the on-going lending discrimination investigations. AAG Perez's full speech is available here.
The Justice Department has consistently announced that prosecuting lending discrimination is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division. While there may be several "on going" investigations, to date few have resulted in litigation or public settlement agreements. According to the Civil Rights Division's list of significant cases, the Division has brought only one lending discrimination matter in 2010--an April 2010 settlement between AIG subsidiaries and the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, of which the Department is a member.
