United States v. Lakeland Bank, Consent Order (D.N.J., entered Sept. 29, 2022)

The 2022 Newark redlining consent order itself. Twenty-two pages, fetched from justice.gov and read in the passages cited; quotations below checked against the PDF.

What it resolves (p. 1): all claims that Lakeland “engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawful redlining in violation of the Fair Housing Act (‘FHA’), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601–3619, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (‘ECOA’), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1691–1691f, Regulation B, 12 C.F.R. § 1002.1 et seq., by discriminating on the basis of race, color, and national origin.” The Bank “neither admits nor denies any of the allegations in the Complaint” (p. 2).

The loan subsidy fund (¶ 23): “Lakeland will invest a minimum of $12 million in a loan subsidy fund to increase credit for home mortgage loans, home improvement loans, and home refinance loans for consumers applying for loans in majority-Black and Hispanic census tracts in its Newark Lending Area.” Subsidy forms (¶ 24) include direct grants for down payment assistance and closing costs, mortgage insurance premium payments, and interest-rate discounts, capped at $15,000 per qualified applicant absent United States non-objection.

The branches (¶¶ 19–20): one de novo full-service branch in a majority-Black and Hispanic census tract in Newark plus one more in such a tract in the Newark Lending Area; “Lakeland will maintain the two new branches for the term of the Order.”

Advertising, outreach, education and credit counseling (¶ 30): “Lakeland will spend at least $150,000 per year on advertising, outreach, consumer financial education, and credit counseling in the Newark Lending Area described in this Section.” Added to this record 2026-09-03: the essay PROMISED relies on this figure and the record did not carry it. The 2026 order denying termination recites the same obligation at p. 6, citing “ECF No. 4 ¶ 30.” Note for anyone grepping the scanned PDF: the figure OCRs as ”$ I 50,000” (capital I for the 1), so an exact-string search for “150,000” returns nothing.

The community development partnership (¶ 27): a separate and smaller obligation, “a minimum of $400,000 over the term of this Consent Order” on services increasing access to residential mortgage credit. Not the same money as ¶ 30; do not conflate them.

The loan officers (¶ 22): “no fewer than four mortgage loan officers to solicit mortgage applications in majority-Black and Hispanic census tracts in the Newark Lending Area.”

The term (¶¶ 50–51): “The requirements of this Consent Order will remain in effect for five years, except as provided in Paragraph 56.” And: “If, within five years of the Effective Date, Lakeland has not invested all money in the loan subsidy fund described in Section III.G, this Consent Order will remain in full effect until three months after Lakeland has invested all the money in the loan subsidy fund and has submitted a final report to the United States that demonstrates the fulfillment of this obligation.” The undisbursed fund does not expire with the clock; it extends the clock.

Geography (¶ 3): the “Newark Lending Area” is “the entirety of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, and Union counties in New Jersey.”