DETROIT, May 19 (UPI) -- A Detroit bank agreed Wednesday to invest more than $3.2 million in the city to settle a suit alleging bias against blacks in lending practices.
The Justice Department filed a complaint alleging that Old Kent Financial Corp. and Old Kent Bank of Detroit, subsequently acquired by Fifth Third and Fifth Third Bank (Michigan), unlawfully avoided making business and residential loans in predominantly black neighborhoods, a practice commonly referred to as redlining.
To settle the suit, Fifth Third will invest more than $3.2 million and open three new branches in the city.
The lawsuit, filed under the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, is the first filed by the Justice Department that focuses on discrimination in commercial lending.
Prior lawsuits in this area focused on residential lending.
Fifth Third cooperated in the investigation and was commended by the department.
