Black borrowers are denied for conventional home loans 2.5 times more often than white borrowers.
Fifty-one years ago this month, the Fair Housing Act (the Act) was enacted to ensure that housing discrimination was illegal.
Yet just days before the annual observance of Fair Housing Month began, headline news articles reminded the nation that housing discrimination still exists.
For example, on March 19, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) fined Citibank $25 million for violations related to mortgage lending. At issue was Citibank's "relationship pricing" program that afforded mortgage applicants either a credit on closing costs or a reduced interest rate. These cost breaks were intended to be offered to customers on the basis of their deposits and investment balances. According to OCC examination at Citibank, these "relationships" did not include all eligible customers—particularly people of color. The regulator's conclusion was that the bank's practices led to racial disparities.
Black borrowers are denied conventional home loans 2.5 times more often than white borrowers.
Days later, on March 28, the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) charged Facebook with violating the Act by enabling its advertisers to discriminate on its social media platform. According to the lawsuit, Facebook enabled advertisers to exclude people based on their neighborhood—a high-tech version of the historical redlining of neighborhoods where people of color lived.
As April's annual observance of Fair Housing Month began, Rep. Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, used her leadership post to bring attention to the nagging challenges that deny fair housing for all. In her opening statement at the April 2 hearing, Waters set the tone and focus of the public forum.
Cashauna Hill, Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, provided additional information on delays encountered with HUD's Fair Housing investigations. Although HUD set a standard for these complaints to be investigated within 100 days, many complaints continue well beyond the agency's own guidelines. Cases older than 100 days are categorized as "aged" in HUD parlance.
Speaking on behalf of the Zillow Group, Dr. Skylar Olsen, its Director of Economic Research, cited additional data that underscored racial disparities and problems that continue with access to credit.
Ms. Goldberg also posed a core question that was as basic as it was direct.
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