OAK RIDGE, NJ, Sept. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lakeland Bank (“Lakeland”), the wholly owned subsidiary of Lakeland Bancorp, Inc., announced today that it has reached an agreement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve allegations that it violated fair lending laws in the Newark, New Jersey Metro Division.

“While we strongly disagree with any suggestion that we acted improperly, Lakeland Bank has cooperated fully throughout the process and remains confident that we have fully complied with all fair lending laws,” said Thomas J. Shara, President and CEO of Lakeland Bank. “This decision avoids the distraction of lengthy litigation and allows us to focus our time, expertise and resources on achieving a common goal: meeting the borrowing needs of all residents in our communities, including those who have been historically underserved.”

Lakeland remains true to the values ??of superior service and a community-centric culture that it has lived since its founding in 1969 from 2004 to the present. The CRA encourages custodians to serve the lending needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and middle-income neighborhoods, and the ratings are based on mortgage, small business, and consumer loans from a financial institution. Currently, Lakeland’s commercial real estate loan portfolio in Newark, New Jersey represents our fourth largest investment within a single community of all the markets in which we operate.

Additional investments resulting from the settlement will further ensure we meet our goals in all of the communities we serve. Specifically, Lakeland will provide $12 million in loan subsidies over the next five years in Majority Black and Hispanic Census Tracts (MBHCTs) in Essex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and…