The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that they had reached an agreement with Eagle Bank and Trust Company to resolve allegations that “Eagle Bank and Trust Company (Eagle Bank) engaged in a pattern or practice of “redlining” predominantly African-American neighborhoods in and around St. Louis.” “Redlining” is defined by the DOJ as “the discriminatory practice by banks or other financial institutions to deny or avoid providing credit services to a consumer because of the racial demographics of the neighborhood in which the consumer lives.”
In order to resolve the allegations, Eagle Bank has agreed to:
See The Lawsuit Filed By The Department of Justice vs Eagle Bank
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- Open two new locations to serve minority occupied neighborhoods in northern St Louis
- Invest at least $975,000 to provide banking and borrowing opportunities to residents and businesses in those areas.
- Of the $975,000 Eagle is to invest, $800,000 is to be used in a special financing program to increase the amount of credit the bank extends to majority African American areas in the Missouri portion of the St. Louis metropolitan area;
- $75,000 is to be used for consumer education and credit repair programs;
- $100,000 is to be used for outreach to potential customers and promotion of their products and services.
The DOJ lawsuit was filed after the FDIC conducted an investigation of the bank and referred the matter to the Department of Justice. The FDIC’s investigation was prompted by information gathered by the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunities Council.
To see the lawsuit originally filed by the Department of Justice against Eagle Bank click here.
