ACORN: Subprime Loans to Minorities Surge

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has released a study showing a jump in the number of subprime loans received by minorities and low-income borrowers that ACORN says may represent an increase in the incidence of predatory lending.Over a million subprime refinance and home-purchase loans were originated in 2001, up from over 100,000 in 1993. Compared with white borrowers, the study found that African-Americans were 4.4 times as likely -- and Latinos were 2.2 times as likely -- to receive a subprime loan. The number of subprime loans to minority and low-income borrowers "skyrocketed" in 2001. "In our 2001 report we found that in 2000 African-Americans were 2.8 times as likely as whites to get a subprime loan," said ACORN spokesman David Swanson. "This year, we found that in one year, it has increased to 4.4 times as likely." Similarly, for Latinos the relative likelihood of getting a subprime loan increased from 1.5 times to 2.2 times. The Washington, D.C.-based association can be found online at http://www.acorn.org.