Diversity and equality

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating allegations that the real estate appraisal standards written by the Washington nonprofit perpetuate discrimination.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets has commissioned an outside law firm to assess its diversity practices. Wells had previously resisted a shareholder proposal that would have authorized a similar review.

By offering financial education through local crisis centers and community groups — and following through with access to credit — many credit unions are building trust with people who had been wary of working with mainstream institutions.

Special-purpose credit programs figure prominently in the recently released equitable housing finance plans of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Financial downturns hit lower-wealth communities first and cause them to suffer the longest.

A contested home valuation was based on the professional's "racist beliefs" and eschewed industry standards with comparisons of properties away from the majority-white neighborhood, according to the lawsuit.

The San Francisco megabank plans to reinstate guidance that drew scrutiny following revelations that women and nonwhite candidates were interviewed for jobs that had been reserved for someone else.

Monetary policy has a more significant impact on spending of U.S. households headed by white women than on those led by white men or Black men and women, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco said.

It is essential to place the central focus on race, to bring nondepository mortgage lenders under the Community Reinvestment Act umbrella and to address bias in home appraisals.

First introduced in 2020, the Fair Access to Financial Services Act would require banks to serve all customers in a manner similar to existing requirements for hotels and restaurants under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

California counties must now work to remove decades-old racist language in property records that once banned people of color from buying homes in neighborhoods across the state.

Congressional authorization for credit-preference programs in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act could mitigate disagreements that might arise from the equitable housing finance plans, write two partners at K&L Gates.

In the states with the largest share of LGBTQ+ couples, homes cost $116,000 more on average than the states with the lowest share, according to a LendingTree report.

The conflicting analyses of automated valuation models highlight a challenge lenders could face in deciding whether to use them to determine racial disparities in home evaluations.

The bank in a new filing claims some litigants didn’t apply for the refinances at the center of the complaint.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating the bank over allegations that it conducted so-called fake interviews with nonwhite and female job applicants, The New York Times reported Thursday.

A new study has found that Black and Hispanic borrowers are denied conventional mortgages at higher rates than white applicants and pay up to $2,000 more to refinance.

Equitable housing initiatives the government–sponsored enterprises detailed Wednesday will rely on mortgage company uptake of experimental underwriting strategies.

Secret test scenarios last year found a loan originator providing fewer options and services on multiple occasions to Black borrowers compared to white customers.

There is a gaping hole in the financial system in North Minneapolis, where people are preyed upon by payday lenders and fringe bankers, according to Debra Hurston, executive director of the Association for Black Economic Power. Hurston is creating a credit union for this community to help break residents out of a cycle of exploitation and debt. But the issue is far bigger than one city, and the opportunity is one that any bank or credit union can seize.