Breaking News: Patriot Bank Gets Slapped with Fair Housing Lawsuit Over Racial Discrimination Claims
Key Points from the News Article:
- Patriot Bank, one of the dominant players in the real estate game, is currently facing a Fair Housing Act lawsuit alleged by no less than the U.S. Government. Seems like Patriot may need a little more…. ‘patriotism’ towards fair housing rights.
- Competitors in Patriot’s peer group can clap themselves on the back, having issued home loans in minority areas of Memphis nearly three times more than our allegedly, ‘unpatriotic’ Patriot, from 2015 through 2020.
- Put on your monocles ladies and gents, this isn’t the regular, run-of-the-mill accusation. This is, brace yourselves, ‘redlining’. What’s that now? Think about a ‘do not cross’ line, but for financial services. Cue the dramatic gasp.
- Sadly, for Patriot Bank, these allegations are showing a glum trend of ‘avoidance’. According to the lawsuit, the bank seems to have shown a lack of interest in serving minority neighborhoods. When it comes to their office locations and their marketing strategies, the suits say it all — ethnic minority neighborhoods are mysteriously missing from their radar!
- Now, for a dash of corporate irony – Patriot Bank advertises itself as a community bank committed to helping build strong neighborhoods. You might want to add “except a few” at the end of that tagline, to keep it factual, you know?
Hot Take:
Listen up folks, if this debacle has taught us anything, it’s that we cannot choose which communities to ‘patriotically’ serve and which to ignore, especially when you’ve got the word ‘Patriot’ stamped across your brand. Just like a buffet, you can’t serve sushi but leave out the wasabi – it’s the full package or nothing!
May this be a reminder that ‘fairness’ in ‘Fair Housing Act’ is not a suggestion, more like a, shall we say, requirement? It would be quite nice if Patriot Bank put their money where their tagline is, rather than just using pretty words. Ditch the redlining, and let’s paint the town rainbow, shall we? Helping build ALL strong neighborhoods – now that’s what I call a punchline!
So, the next time you trot over to Patriot, remember, you’re potentially walking into an establishment that could play eenie-meenie-miney-mo with your application based on where you live. But hey, here’s to hoping they roll out an updated version of their corporate ethics that says: ‘All communities welcome!’
Parting Words:
In the real estate market, like a certain comic book uncle once said, with great power comes great responsibility. We’re definitely watching you Patriot – don’t let your tagline and the people down!
Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/01/19/patriot-bank-denies-doj-redlining-allegations-settles-for-1-9m/
