The Washington Post, February 3, 2022, A Black doctor says she was refused service at a bank because of her race: ‘I felt like a criminal’
Racial discrimination in banking, a phenomenon sometimes called “banking while Black,” is a common experience in the United States. Several instances of Black people being questioned about their deposits and accused of fraud have made national headlines.
Discrimination also often occurs with small business loans. A 2019 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that minority business owners are scrutinized more harshly and treated worse than White counterparts with lower credit scores when meeting with bankers about loans. According to the study, White test subjects were treated better by employees and asked fewer questions about their eligibility for a loan. Black applicants, however, were more frequently asked about their education level, credit and personal finances.
