Patriot Bank, based in Millington, Tennessee, has agreed to enter into a consent order with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve the federal government’s allegations that the bank avoided providing mortgages to people living in, or seeking to live in, majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Patriot, a community bank with eight branches, serves residents in Memphis and Shelby, Tipton and Fayette counties in Tennessee.
The consent order between Patriot and the DOJ is still subject to approval by a federal judge, but would require the Bank to invest $1.9 million into communities of color in Memphis if approved, the DOJ said Wednesday in a press release. From 2015 through at least 2020, other banks received nearly 3.5 times as many loan applications compared to Patriot in majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Memphis, the agency said.
Under the proposed consent order, Patriot will invest at least $1.3 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase home mortgage, home improvement and home refinance for majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhood residents.
Wednesday’s agreement comes more than two years after the DOJ announced a coordinated effort to fight discrimination against communities of color alongside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. With the Patriot settlement — the 11th redlining case since 2021 — the initiative will secure over $109 million in relief.