New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s attorney general is accusing a mortgage lender of refusing to offer financing to African-Americans living in Buffalo.
Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Tuesday alleging that Evans Bank intentionally excluded predominantly African-American neighborhoods on the city’s east side from its lending area.
In a statement, bank President David Nasca says Evans will “vigorously” defend itself against meritless accusations.
Schneiderman says the lawsuit is part of a wider investigation by his office into the illegal practice of redlining, in which a lender denies access to mortgages or charges more in certain neighborhoods based on race.
Evans Bank of New York.
The lawsuit alleges that more than 75 percent of Buffalo’s African-American population was denied access to the bank’s mortgage products.
Evans Bank has 13 branches in western New York.