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OceanFirst Bank Announces Voluntary Settlement of Fair Lending Claims by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Agrees to Commit $14 Million in Residential Lending Subsidy Programs in New Brunswick Area RED BANK, N.J., Sept. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OceanFirst
About this update from Oceanfirst Financial Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"Agrees to Commit $14 Million in Residential Lending Subsidy Programs in New Brunswick Area\nRED BANK, N.J., Sept. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:OCFC) (the “Company”), the holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. (the “Bank” or “OceanFirst”), announced today that the Bank has voluntarily entered into settlement agreements (the “Agreements”) with the United States Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to resolve claims that the Bank violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act in the New Brunswick-Lakewood, New Jersey lending area, which includes Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties. The settlement is one of approximately a dozen agreements reached by the DOJ with mortgage lenders since 2021, totaling over $120 million in investments in mortgage lending subsidies, financial education and outreach. Founded in 1902, OceanFirst Bank, named after its county of origin, maintained its physical locations primarily in Ocean County, New Jersey for more than eight decades. Starting in 2015, the Bank began expanding its footprint into other parts of southern New Jersey and northern Pennsylvania. In 2018, the Bank acquired Sun National Bank, which was the first time it established a significant presence in central New Jersey, including Middlesex and Monmouth counties. While the acquisition of Sun expanded the physical footprint of OceanFirst in the New Brunswick market, residential mortgage lending opportunities initially were limited due to the time needed to build the corresponding operations and volume as Sun National Bank had discontinued consumer lending several years prior to their sale. Since 2019, OceanFirst has made significant commitments to minority market lending and outreach initiatives in the New Brunswick area and continues to explore ways to build and deepen relationships for further growth in these communities. These efforts are anchored in the Bank’s full-service branch in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Christopher D. Maher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, of OceanFirst Financial Corp., stated, “The commitments we are announcing today are consistent with our Bank’s 122-year history of providing credit and other financial services to all residents of the communities we serve. We look forward to continuing the Bank...