U.S. Attorney’s Office launches Mass. anti-redlining initiative
Photo | Grant Welker
The Worcester skyline
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, in conjunction with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced on Friday the launch of a new initiative intended to fight against redlining in communities of color.
Dubbed the Combatting Redline Initiative, led by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division’s Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, will aim to help make mortgage credit and homeownership accessible to all regardless of race, national origin, or which neighborhood they live in.
The announcement outlined four key components of the plan, including using U.S. Attorneys’ Offices as so-called force multipliers to make sure lending enforcement is informed by local expertise on housing markets and credit needs of local communities of color; expanding the DOJ’s analysis of potential redlining to both depository and non-depository institutions; strengthening partnerships with financial regulatory agencies to bolster identification and referrals related to fair lending violations to the DOJ; and, increasing coordination with state attorneys general on potential fair lending violations.
Redlining is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act and Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
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