Black and Latino borrowers in the Los Angeles County area continue to receive far fewer home purchase loans than White homebuyers, according to an analysis of federal home loan data released this week by The Greenlining Institute.
“In our society, homeownership remains critical to building wealth and financial stability,” said report author Rawan Elhalaby, Greenlining’s senior equity program manager. The Greenlining Institute is a policy, research, organizing and leadership institute working for racial and economic justice, according to its website.
“The racial discrepancies we see can’t be explained simply by differences in income,” Elhalaby said. “It will take a concerted effort by banks, non-bank lenders and financial regulators to overcome the systemic disadvantages that Black, Latino and indigenous borrowers still face.”
In the Los Angeles/Long Beach/Glendale metropolitan statistical area, Latinos make up nearly half of the population but received less than 23 percent of home purchase loans. The Black community represents 7.76 percent of the population and received 4.04 percent of home purchase loans, according to Elhalaby.
The report, “Home Lending to Communities of Color in California,” is based on data for 2019 reported under the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
Among the report’s key findings:
–Black and Latino shares of home purchase loans in the state were only about 60 percent of what would be expected based on their percentage of the state’s population, while Whites were overrepresented. Native Indians’ share of home mortgages was about half of what would be expected based on their population;
–Even among low-income communities, Black and Latino borrowers lagged behind Whites in their share of home purchase loans, indicating that the racial and ethnic discrepancies can’t be explained solely by income differences;
–Women of color make up 30 percent of California’s population but received only about 8 percent of home loans; and
–Non-bank lenders, which operate similarly to traditional lenders but are not regulated by the Community Reinvestment Act, are gaining market share without making community commitments common among traditional banks.
