REPORT SHOWS MINORITIES OFTEN STUCK WITH HIGH-PRICED MORTGAGES

June 1, 2006

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Civil rights groups said they would step up their lobbying efforts for a predatory-lending bill with strong consumer protections after a report showed that blacks and Latinos receive high-priced subprime mortgages far more frequently than whites, even when factoring in such circumstances as borrower income and property location, CongressDaily reported yesterday. The Center for Responsible Lending study of 50,000 subprime loans showed that for many types of loans, blacks and Latinos were almost a third more likely to get a high-priced mortgage than white borrowers with the same credit scores. The Center is a North Carolina-based community development lender. In the aftermath of the report, groups such as the NAACP and the National Council of La Raza said they would intensify their lobbying efforts on House legislation that would curb predatory lending practices for home mortgages. House Financial Services Financial Institutions Subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) is attempting to write bipartisan legislation to move later this year. The civil rights groups are backing legislation sponsored by Reps. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) and Melvin Watt (D-N.C.) that would regulate a little-known lending compensation practice referred to as a yield-spread premium.