Deutsche Bank Reportedly Neglecting Foreclosed Minority Homes

Deutsche Bank Outed For Neglecting Foreclosed Homes In Minority Neighborhoods

The nation is still recovering from the sub-prime lending housing crisis that jump started the 2008 U.S. recession and the latest big bank at the center of the aftermath controversy is Deutsche Bank.

via Chicago Sun Times

A national housing group on Tuesday alleged racism mars the way Deutsche Bank maintains vacant, foreclosed properties, saying it allows those homes in black and Latino communities to deteriorate, while upkeeping them in white communities.

The complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says the evidence was glaring in its investigation of some 130 properties in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Memphis.

Foreclosed homes in black and Latino neighborhoods were characterized by trash strewn across the properties, broken windows or doors, overgrown lawns, mold and water damage, and other problems, while homes in white communities were immaculately maintained, the National Fair Housing Alliance said.

“In predominantly African-American and Hispanic communities, Deutsche Bank is not a particularly good neighbor,” said Gail Schecter, executive director of Open Communities in Winnetka, among three local fair housing groups working in Chicago’s north shore, northwest and south suburbs, which joined the complaint.

There’s no denying that sub-prime lending practices hit minority home buyers and communities harder than the rest, so for this bank to purposely screw over the neighborhoods too is just shameful.