WASHINGTON
Higher income does not protect blacks and Hispanics from
receiving mortgage loans with above-market rates, a new study by a group
pushing for reforms to lending laws says.
The report, released Tuesday by the Washington-based
National Community Reinvestment Coalition, concludes that in 2005 blacks in 171
metropolitan areas were at least twice as likely as whites to receive expensive
loans.
The study was based on an analysis of nationwide mortgage
data collected by the Federal Reserve for the most recent year available.
The report, which analyzed 2.3 million high-cost loans in
380 metro areas, also concluded that while the disparity among blacks and
whites existed at all income levels, it was more severe at higher income
levels, rather than lower ones.
The study found that middle-class and upper income blacks in
167 metropolitan areas were at least twice as likely as whites with similar
incomes to receive loans with high rates. By comparison, there were 70
metropolitan areas where low-income blacks faced a similar likelihood of
receiving above-market rates.
Low-income blacks in all areas were more likely to have
pricey loans than whites with similar incomes.
