Racial bias

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.

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.

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.

The pending budget reconciliation legislation should retain measures meant to support minority homebuyers writes the President of the National Association Of Real Estate Brokers.

The brokerage will eliminate its minimum housing price policy, which determines who can access its services, among other changes.

Allowing VantageScore to compete in the mainstream mortgage market may help to close the racial homeownership and financial wealth gap by increasing homeownership opportunities for underserved populations, writes the president and CEO of HomeFree-USA.

The bank asked to move the discrimination case from a Black magistrate to a supervising White district judge, which attorneys for plaintiffs said was an attempt to ‘redline the federal court.’

The municipality and the bank have been at odds over similar issues in the past, and no agency currently has deposit accounts with the lender.

Wells Fargo won an early round in a lawsuit accusing the bank of running a predatory mortgage lending scheme in the Atlanta area before the 2008 financial crisis and continuing to discriminate against minorities for more than a decade afterward.

Lawmakers also asked officials to include more perspectives from Veterans Affairs and USDA representatives and increase focus on manufactured home valuations.

The actions involved are based on findings by an interagency task force first convened last year by Marcia Fudge, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The class action complaint comes after U.S. senators called on regulators to investigate the bank’s alleged treatment of minority homeowners.

An audit found that mostly wealthy, white homeowners in urban counties were benefiting from the century-old policy.

This follows the publication last week of an investigation that found that the bank had in 2020 approved only 47% of applications to refinance mortgages completed by Black homeowners compared with 72% of those from White applicants.

Mortgage companies can open doors to homeownership for more minorities by incorporating low-down-payment financing options; closing cost credits; down-payment assistance; diverse, in-market sales teams ready to provide access and support; and more, writes the chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages over the bank’s mortgage origination and underwriting practices, alleging minority homebuyers were excluded from affordable, low-risk loans.