Diversity and equality

Black homeownership fell to 43.9% this summer, its lowest since 2021, as rising unemployment and federal layoffs widened housing gaps across demographics.

The comment period for the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing interim final rule has been extended, but consumer advocates are clear in their opposition.

According to the litigation, a homeowner's Denver property was valued 25% less because of her race.

A federal appeals court ruled that the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits not just outright discrimination but also the discouragement of prospective applicants for credit.

Rocket Mortgage entered into an agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and will pay the consumers $65,000 to resolve the matter.

Plaintiffs seeking class certification claim the bank uses an underwriting system that discriminates against minority mortgage applicants.

As part of a settlement with the Justice Department, Patriot Bank must invest more than $1 million of the total in a loan subsidy fund for minority homeowners and take other corrective steps in its everyday business. The bank denied any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit accuses Navy Federal of violating the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act after a CNN report that the lender approved a lower percentage of Black and Latino mortgage applicants.

A Connecticut-based couple sued the bank and Cavanaugh Appraisals, LLC for denying them a refinance in 2021 because of racial bias.

At the Most Powerful Women in Banking conference, asset management leader Jenny Johnson discussed opportunities and risks for portfolio managers in 2023.

Kevin Meyersburg, who is white, says in a lawsuit that the Wall Street investment bank terminated his employment and replaced him with a Black woman who is less qualified for the position. Morgan Stanley declined to comment.

Prosecutors claim every dollar in subsidy funds from settlements equates to ten times the amount in value in home lending efforts.

The San Francisco megabank plans to reinstate guidance that drew scrutiny following revelations that women and nonwhite candidates were interviewed for jobs that had been reserved for someone else.

The municipality and the bank have been at odds over similar issues in the past, and no agency currently has deposit accounts with the lender.

The City Council recently voted 15-1 to establish a financial authority that would provide credit enhancements on loans to underserved borrowers. Public banking advocates say the effort is both an interim step for Philadelphia and a test case for other cities.

The long-awaited Community Reinvestment Act reform plan is likely to address climate change and bank partnerships with nonbank lenders, while also taking into account the shrinking number of U.S. bank branches, government officials said Monday.

Credit unions and banks need to ask themselves if they're finding ways to say "yes" to consumers who too often hear "no" from mainstream institutions. Otherwise, they perpetuate a system that excludes the poor and people of color and drive them toward nonbanks, said Pablo DeFilippi of Inclusiv Network and other experts.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages over the bank’s mortgage origination and underwriting practices, alleging minority homebuyers were excluded from affordable, low-risk loans.

The researchers found that the disparities that emerged from the analysis of 1.8 million appraisals from 2019 and 2020 were statistically significant.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency found several comments that could lead to fair lending concerns in the “neighborhood description” section of reports.