America Wire releases exclusive story on study documenting mortgage discrimination in the US since housing crisis began
Washington, DC (BlackNews.com) — America’s Wire today released a story documenting that African-Americans and Hispanics received significantly fewer mortgages than whites between 2004 and 2009, citing a study by ComplianceTech that was obtained exclusively by America’s Wire. ComplianceTech analyzes mortgage data for government, non-profit organizations and financial institutions.
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Kenneth J. Cooper, reports in the story that African-Americans and Hispanics borrowed 62 percent less to buy or refinance homes in 2009 than they borrowed before the housing market crashed in 2004, while mortgages to whites declined only 17 percent, and Asians obtaining nearly an equal amount in mortgages.
“Whites were about twice as likely as African-Americans and Hispanics to be approved for prime mortgages with the lowest interest rates, while members of the two largest minority groups were two to four times more likely to receive subprime loans, which have higher rates,” Mr. Cooper wrote. “By contrast, the disparities were much narrower for loans insured by the government’s Federal Housing Administration, which has attracted a growing number of borrowers during the credit crunch.” Furthermore, the story reports that the study, which is a computer analysis of data collected by the federal government under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, also concludes that mortgage loans to minorities were not the cause of the housing crisis, as some critics have contended.
You can reach America Wire at www.Americaswire.org,
