Study Cites Racial Disparity in Lending

African-Americans were more than twice as likely to be denied a conventional mortgage loan than white borrowers in 2002, and Latinos were rejected more than one-and-a-half times as often, according to a study released by ACORN.The study, which analyzed data on a national scale and in 115 metropolitan areas, also found that racial disparities remain even when controlling for income. ACORN, an association of community groups, said upper-income African Americans are more likely to be rejected for conventional purchase loans than white applicants whose incomes are less than half as large. African-Americans constitute 13% of the population, but received just 5.1% of conventional purchase loans (up slightly from 2001), while Latinos make up 12.5% of the population, and received 8.5% of purchase loans, up 13.3% from 2001, according to the study. To decrease the lending disparities found in the report, ACORN said it recommends changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that are under consideration by Congress.