Bank of America has been sued for racial discrimination by current and former African-American employees who claimed lucrative clients were steered to their white counterparts.

The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the district of Massachusetts and obtained by WealthBriefing, alleged African-American bankers and advisors were disproportionately steered to sales territories with largely minority and low net worth customers.

The complaint said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank regularly teams African-American workers together and assigns them to largely minority neighborhoods and low net-worth clients.

When the plaintiffs complained about such assignments, the complaint stated they were told their clients would be more "comfortable" dealing with financial advisors and bankers of their own race.

“These banking professionals are entitled to the same business opportunities as their Caucasian counterparts - and Bank of America has denied them the opportunity to succeed," said Darnley Stewart, partner at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, a law firm and co-counsel for the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit is a class action filed by five current and former African-American employees against Bank of America and Bank of America Investments on behalf of bankers and financial advisors who worked there between 1 April 2003 and the present.