American Banker’s recent article on displacement financing shined light on an issue that many community organizations deal with on a daily basis — watching their low-income clients get pushed out of their homes.

Much of this displacement resulted from financial transactions where banks knew, or should have known, that rent increases and displacement of existing tenants were imminent. Our organization recently published a report that found widespread complicity among banks in financing displacement in Oakland, Calif.

During the past decade, large-scale foreclosures in Oakland led to the direct displacement of many homeowners. Bank subprime lending spurred an economic crash that directly increased the renter population, and single-family homes were converted into rental housing at an unprecedented rate. Tenants in such homes generally have fewer protections than those in multifamily buildings. Our research shows how “serial evictor” speculators in hot rental markets secure bank loans to buy properties rented by low-income tenants in order to raise rents and/or evict current residents to convert these affordable units to more expensive residences.

Displacement financing by banks runs counter to their obligation to help meet low- and middle-income communities’ credit needs under the Community Reinvestment Act. In many cases, bank lenders know when a borrower landlord’s business model includes raising rents and evicting tenants. Displacement mortgages underwritten based on this business model are deeply problematic.

Oakland has the fastest pace for gentrification and displacement in the Bay Area; homelessness increased 36% in Alameda County from 2016 to 2017, while many working-class people were forced to move out of town. Renters need to earn $48.71 per hour (nearly four times the minimum wage) to afford median rent of $2,553.

Our report identifies First Republic Bank as the worst actor in financing Oakland’s displacement crisis. According to our research, the bank has made several hundred loans to problematic landlords, who then filed over 500 eviction petitions throughout Oakland. We also point to several dozen other banks, firms and institutions that have funded problematic property owners or serial evictors, as identified by nonprofit groups.