Although the 1968 Fairhousing Act banned the conduct – and banks deny that such a practice exists today – there have been numerous reports as well as anecdotal evidence suggesting the opposite is true.
Saleh, who has previously examined underwriting practices in emerging markets, such as in Latin America and Eastern Europe, said: “Redlining is unquestionably still happening, and the evidence is hiding in plain sight. The data suggests that if you look at the top 50 biggest originators, especially in what I would call secondary markets like Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Oakland and St. Louis, there’s a lot of evidence of redlining, including by some very prominent institutions.”
He declined to say who they were but revealed that FairPlay would be releasing a list of the fairest lenders in the coming weeks.
“From identifying the fairest folks, you ought to be able to put a finger on some of the entities who didn’t make that list,” he added.
To compile the report, Saleh accessed loan records collected through the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), a comprehensive data source that identifies race, ethnicity and gender for mortgage applications.