The Justice Department announced today an agreement to resolve allegations that City National Bank (City National) engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by “redlining” in Los Angeles County. City National is the largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles and among the 50largest banks in the United States. This resolution will include over $31 million in relief to impacted individuals and communities. The agreement, which is part of the Department’s nationwide Combating Redlining Initiative that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland launched in October 2021, represents the largest redlining settlement in its history.
“Fifteen months after I vowed that the Justice Department would be aggressively stepping up our efforts to combat discriminatory practices in the housing market, we have today secured the largest redlining settlement in Department history,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “So far, the Combating Redlining Initiative has secured over $75 million dollars in relief for communities that have suffered from lending discrimination. The Justice Department will continue to build on our efforts to vigorously enforce federal fair lending laws and work to ensure that financial institutions provide equal opportunity for every American to obtain credit. In advance of what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 94th birthday, it is a fitting time to reaffirm our commitment to that work, and to the pursuit of justice for all Americans.”