Waters to Seek Minority Access to Prime Loans

In addressing predatory lending, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., says she also wants to make sure that blacks and Hispanics have access to prime mortgages and are not forced into higher-priced subprime loans."I am very much focused on the fact that we continue to get substantial documentation that people of color pay more for loans," the new housing subcommittee chairwoman told the National Association of Affordable Housing Lenders. "We cannot have African-Americans and Latinos, who earn the same amount of money as a Caucasian, pay their bills equally as well, but they are only offered subprime loans and pay more for their mortgages. That has got to stop." Rep. Waters said the new leaders of the House Financial Services Committee recognize the seriousness of this kind of discrimination. "We are going to fix it," she said.