Racial bias

A Connecticut-based couple sued the bank and Cavanaugh Appraisals, LLC for denying them a refinance in 2021 because of racial bias.

Black, Hispanic and Asian homeowners had a 44%, 32% and 30% denial rate for HELOC products, while white homeowners had a 23% denial rate, an analysis of HMDA data by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found.

A report from the state's attorney general found Black and Latino households end up paying that combined amount more in origination fees, interest rates and other associated costs, in addition to seeing higher rates of loan denials.

Two separate programs providing as much as $10,000 in assistance are open to eligible borrowers in the Philadelphia area.

Black Americans experienced denial rates of 16.4% in 2022, up from 15.7% the year before, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council said last week.

Wells Fargo directed its bilingual team to steer customers away from products with no closing costs toward "predatory lending options" without disclosing the costs, in part by refusing to provide Spanish-language written materials, according to the complaint.

Six regulatory agencies are seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would establish best practices for using automated valuation models to assess collateral.

The Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania-based financial institution, from 2017 to 2021, did not sufficiently serve the credit needs of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia, the DOJ alleges.

Artificial intelligence can help cut bias out of credit models. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should make it easier for lenders to adopt it.

The California Reinvestment Coalition, the group behind the assessment, is calling for increased nonbank oversight.

Prosecutors claim every dollar in subsidy funds from settlements equates to ten times the amount in value in home lending efforts.

The Ohio-based bank concentrated most of its lending branches in majority-white neighborhoods and did nothing to compensate for its lack of physical presence, the DOJ claims.

The filing is the most recent accusation of discrimination in the field, an issue that has drawn attention from the White House last year.

Its "enhanced" oversight procedures now include a multilayered review process and if discriminatory bias is confirmed, an appraiser "will be subject to removal," the department said

The department wants to make changes to its reconsideration of value process by giving Federal Housing Administration borrowers the opportunity to seek a second appraisal

A new state study suggests that mortgage lenders are putting up barriers to home ownership among people of color.

Nonprofit housing developer James Armstrong shook hands with West Dallas residents and some of the city's top brass on an empty field where a rare deal was done.

Bank regulators are considering a measure that would rewrite the rules implementing the Community Reinvestment Act. They should consider taking their existing rules seriously.

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.

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