DOJ says First National Bank discriminated against Black, Latino borrowers in North Carolina

First National Bank of Pennsylvania will pay $13.5 million to settle accusations that it discriminated against predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Charlotte and Winston-Salem by using an illegal lending practice.

6 former employees sue Charlotte company alleging racist practices

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and the Justice Department announced the settlement agreement Monday. First National Bank, the retail arm of FNB Corp. (NYSE: FNB), was accused of redlining, a practice in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color, according to a press release.

Specifically, the complaint alleged that FNB failed to provide mortgage lending services to predominately Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in Charlotte and Winston-Salem from 2017 to 2021. The Pittsburgh-based bank was accused of discouraging people seeking credit in those communities from obtaining a home loan.

And that its search engine and direct mail marketing was targeted to homes within 10 miles or a 15-minute drive of their branches.

Since they were almost all in white neighborhoods, that had the effect of discriminating against Black and Hispanic homebuyers.

Stein says there is a long history of banks operating in this manner, which is called “redlining.”

“Redlining. Historically, was when lenders literally would take a map and they would draw a line with a red marker, and they would lend in one area and they would not lend in another area, no matter the credit-worthiness of the people who lived in the other area. That is illegal, it’s racially discriminatory,” Stein said.

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