On November 17, 2016, OneWest Bank was accused of breaking federal laws by deliberately keeping branches out of minority neighborhoods and allowing very limited numbers of mortgages to be processed for black and Latino borrowers. From 2014-2015, OneWest approved only two mortgages to black borrowers across a number of diverse counties throughout Southern California, despite the fact that the bank operated 52 branches in those areas.
According to the director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, “the bank has no significant branch presence in communities of color and its home loans to borrowers and communities of color are low in absolute terms, low compared to peer banks, and low when compared to what one would expect.” This advocacy group has filed a complaint with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development asking them to investigate what they claim is a violation of laws that ensure equal access to credit for minority home buyers.
This story is particularly important due to the identity of the owner of OneWest at the time this was reported to have been happening. Steven Mnuchin was the founder and Chairman of OneWest before it was acquired by CIT Group. Steven Mnuchin is also now being named as top pick to be the next Secretary of the Treasury Department under the Donald Trump Administration.
Sources:
Dakin Campbell, “Mnuchin’s Bank Accused of Redlining Black and Latino Homebuyers,” Bloomberg, November 17, 2016.