HMDA Data Analysis Points to Racial Disparities in Home Loans

Sep 29, 2017

Black and Hispanic borrowers continued to more difficulty accessing home loans in 2016 than their white counterparts, according an analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).

Using newly released 2016 HMDA data by the Federal Reserve, CRL found black and Hispanic borrowers received a combined 187,958 conventional loans, or nine percent of 2,123,000 conventional loans approved last year. In comparison, white consumers received 70 percent of these loans or 1,490,032.

However, black and Hispanic borrowers received more government-backed mortgages through the VA and FHA programs. In 2016, 324,566 non-conventional mortgage loans were approved for nonwhites, compared to 866,000 loans approved for whites. White consumers received 809,400 FHA loans in 2016, or 60 percent of the total number.

“It is troubling to see the continued trend of mortgage lenders abdicating their responsibility to serve the full universe of credit-worthy borrowers,” said Nikitra Bailey, CRL Executive Vice President. “During the financial crisis, taxpayers of all colors together paid for the bailout of banks. Now and years later to see that African-Americans and Latinos to remain overly dependent upon FHA to access mortgages is a sign of unfair treatment. on FHA to access mortgages is a sign of unfair treatment.”

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Phil Hall

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Sep 29, 2017

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