OceanFirst Financial voluntarily settles fair lending claims by DOJ, HUD

OceanFirst Financial announced that the Bank has voluntarily entered into settlement agreements with the United States Department of Justice 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. 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’s efforts in the New Brunswick-Lakewood market to help meet the lending and banking needs of families, businesses, schools and organizations.”