“As indicated in a report by the Center for American Progress, when borrowing from 14 of the nation’s top banks, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, in 2006, 17.8 percent of Caucasian borrowers were given higher-priced mortgages, while 30.9 percent of Hispanics and a shocking 41.5 percent of African-Americans received them,” Towns said. “There is evidence that African-Americas and Hispanics may have been targeted for these pricier loans.”
Dr. Christian E. Weller, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for American Progress Action Fund, told committee members that research demonstrates that minorities contend with structural problems, such as labor market segmentation, credit market steering, and discrimination, that for many years has led to disproportionately higher unemployment rates and poverty.
