Washington, DC – Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) released an updated analysis of home and small business lending in Washington, DC. The analysis of 2011 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data on lending from six major banks and the lending market as a group shows racial and gender disparities in home lending.
The analysis finds that all lenders in the Washington, DC market as a group made a disproportionately low percentage of home loans to African-Americans, low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and female borrowers.
“This analysis shows that lenders have some work to do to ensure that they are fairly serving creditworthy women, low- and moderate-income, and African-American borrowers in Washington, DC,” said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. “NCRC and its member organizations stand ready to work with lending institutions to improve outreach, deliver homeownership counseling and foreclosure prevention, and increase responsible lending in the city.”
African Americans comprise 56 percent of Washington, DC’s households but all lenders in the market as a group made just 18.5 percent of their prime loans in Washington, DC to African Americans. All lenders in the market as a group issued a percentage of loans (22.9 percent) to LMI borrowers that was about half the percentage of the LMI share of the city’s households (40.9 percent). Female headed households were 47.9 percent of the city’s households but women received just 31.4 percent of all loans issued in the city.
“NCRC applauds the introduction of a new responsible banking ordinance in Washington, DC. Responsible banking ordinances are powerful local mechanisms to hold banks accountable and to help to ensure that they are investing responsibly in our communities. Our study shows that banks have some work to do in the District of Columbia. We urge the swift passage of the DC responsible banking ordinance as a means to motivate banking institutions to increase their responsible lending.”
About NCRC:
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development and vibrant communities for America’s working families. To find out more, visit http://ncrcdev.local
