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“font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px;”>From 2007 to 2009, bank lending to low-income and minority communities in the St. Louis area declined while lending to upper-income and white communities increased significantly, according to a report released last week.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> In the Equal Housing Opportunity Council’s report “Redlined: A Fair Lending Analysis of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area,” researchers found that lending to low-income neighborhoods has decreased by over 60 percent, and lending to upper-income neighborhoods has increased by 46 percent.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> Predominantly minority communities have seen a decrease in lending by 68 percent, compared to a 24 percent increase in lending to white-populated areas. These predominately minority communities have significantly less access to bank services and branches.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> In St. Louis city and St. Louis County, there are seven zip codes – all of which have predominantly African-American populations – that do not have a single full-service bank branch. These unbanked zip codes have a total combined population of 102,219.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> In contrast, six zip codes with predominantly white populations have at least one bank for every 1,500 persons.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> African-American borrowers have also experienced a significant decrease in lending. Since 2007, lending to African Americans decreased by nearly 50 percent, while lending to white borrowers increased by 22 percent.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> Loan originations to African-American borrowers represent only 4.73 percent of all loan originations in 2009, compared to the 17 percent of black households in the metro area.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> African-American borrowers and neighborhoods are still more likely to be denied a loan and are still more likely to receive a high-interest loan than a white borrower or neighborhood, according to the report. “More than three decades after the Community Reinvestment Act was passed to prohibit redlining, and 43 years after the Fair Housing Act was passed, mortgage lending disparities have begun to widen again,” said Will Jordan, executive director of EHOC.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> EHOC is a member of the St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance, a coalition working to increase investment in low-income and minority communities.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> The report also examined the performance of the 10 largest mortgage lenders in the St. Louis MSA: U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Pulaski Bank, Bank of America, USA Mortgage, Heartland Bank, MetLife Bank, Regions Bank, Countrywide Bank and JP Morgan Chase Bank.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> Wells Fargo had the lowest market penetration to low- and moderate-income borrowers. JP Morgan Chase Bank had the lowest market penetration to African-American borrowers.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> Regions Bank had the highest denial rate disparity based on race, with blacks denied 4.63 times more than white borrowers.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> African Americans applying for loans with JP Morgan Chase Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo were more than three times more likely to receive high cost loans than white borrowers.
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“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”> All but three lenders (USA Mortgage, Heartland, and MetLife) received a combined $80 billion in taxpayer-funded aid through the government’s Troubled Asset Relief program, which was created by former President George W. Bush in 2008. “Financial institutions – particularly those taking taxpayers’ funds – should examine how they can better serve these communities,” Jordan said. The full report is available for download at
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