It came as a surprise to many housing experts that Asian, Black and Hispanic homeownership rates all jumped last year by more than 2 percentage points, according to quarterly Census Bureau data.

Kristy Fercho, who's run the bank's home lending division since August 2020, will report directly to CEO Charlie Scharf and sit on the operating committee. Last year, she became the first Black person to chair the Mortgage Bankers Association, and she took the top spot in American Banker's Most Powerful Women to Watch this year.

Major efforts are underway to eliminate discriminatory practices in property valuations.

Exclusive Arizent research found that more than 95% of employees think they have something to learn from people who are different from them. But only 66% think that diverse companies make better decisions. We explore the disconnect.

Methods to combat the discrimination include lender disclosures explaining the process, industry guidance around reconsiderations of value, uniform 3D property scans and more automated valuation models easier to audit than manual valuations.

SPCPs are posed as an equitable housing solution but hesitation and confusion about them is persistent in the mortgage industry, housing finance experts said.

The trade groups, including the American Bankers Association, allege the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau exceeded its authority by claiming discrimination in any financial product violates the federal prohibition on "unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices."

When voters in Oakland, Berkeley and South San Francisco receive ballots in the mail next month, they'll be asked whether their cities should be allowed to help build more desperately needed affordable housing.

The country's largest banks should deepen partnerships with minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions, and regulators should facilitate that process.