FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
MONDAY, APRIL 15, 1996                             (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


       JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES NEBRASKA BANK FOR ALLEGEDLY
         CHARGING NATIVE AMERICANS HIGHER INTEREST RATES

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A northwest Nebraska bank that allegedly
charged Native Americans higher interest rates on consumer loans
than other equally-qualified applicants was sued today by the
Justice Department.
     The case was referred to the Justice Department last year
after an examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency (OCC).  The Justice Department conducted a subsequent
investigation.  No non-racial business explanation to justify the
price differences was found.
     The complaint, filed today in U.S. District Court in Rapid
City, South Dakota, alleged that the First National Bank of Gordon
engaged in a pattern of discrimination.  It claimed that the one-
branch bank charged Native Americans higher interest rates for
consumer loans than those charged to whites, in violation of the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act.
     "It's unfair and illegal to make Native Americans pay more,"
said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick. 
"Every American deserves a fair chance at credit which can make a
difference in improving their lives." 
     The bank, which is situated in Gordon approximately 25 miles
from the South Dakota border, includes the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in its service area.  The reservation, located in South
Dakota, is home to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, where the victims are
located.  
     Patrick noted that the difference in interest rates between
the loans made to Native American borrowers and those made to
similarly situated white borrowers could not have occurred by
chance and cannot be explained by factors unrelated to race or
national origin.
     "By working together with the lending industry we are making
access to credit more available for all Americans," added Patrick.
     Patrick noted that today's complaint seeks an order requiring
the bank to stop discriminating against Native Americans, pay
compensatory and punitive damages to the victims, adopt a plan to
remedy the bank's discriminatory practices, and pay a civil penalty
of up to $50,000 to the U.S. treasury.
     "Native Americans throughout the region should have the same
access to credit as all other applicants," said Karen E. Schreier,
U.S. Attorney in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  "We will not tolerate
banks treating Native Americans differently than other customers."
     Patrick noted that over the past four years the Justice
Department has reached settlements with eight other financial
institutions.  
     In January 1994, it sued the Blackpipe State Bank in Martin,
South Dakota for allegedly charging Native Americans higher
interest rates than other equally qualified applicants, and for
refusing to make loans when the collateral was located on
reservations.  Under a settlement, the bank agreed to create a
$125,000 fund to compensate victims of its discriminatory conduct.
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