DOJ Reaches $20M Redlining Settlement with Trident Mortgage Co.

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FILE - A "for sale" sign stands in front of a house in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, on June 8, 2018. A Pennsylvania mortgage company owned by billionaire businessman Warren Buffett discriminated against potential Black and Latino homebuyers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware, the Department of Justice said Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in what they are calling the second-largest redlining settlement in history. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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A mortgage company owned by billionaire Warren Buffett is under scrutiny after being accused of discrimination against Black and Latino homebuyers in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware. That’s according to the Department of Justice. Trident Mortgage Co., a division of Berkshire Hathaway, reached a settlement with the DOJ that provides over $20 million to increase credit opportunities in neighborhoods of color.

The deal marks the first redlining settlement against a mortgage company and the second largest redlining settlement in DOJ history.

“This settlement is a stark reminder that redlining is not a problem from a bygone era. Trident’s unlawful redlining activity denied communities of color equal access to residential mortgages, stripped them of the opportunity to build wealth, and devalued properties in their neighborhoods,” said Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Redlining is an illegal process in which lenders avoid providing credit services to individuals living in communities of color.


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