Racist Mortgage Lenders

According to the Atlanta paper,

Nearly half of blacks who bought a house in 2005 or 2006 ended up with a high-interest mortgage, compared with 13 percent of white home buyers, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of federal mortgage data.

Among black home buyers making more than $100,000 a year, 41 percent got a subprime mortgage, compared with 7 percent of whites in the same income category.

Experts on mortgage lending offer a variety of explanations. Some say differences in credit history cause the variation. Others argue that subprime mortgage lenders aggressively targeted minority communities.

"People who have low [credit] scores are people who have difficulty managing credit and repaying promptly," said Anthony M. Yezer, a professor at George Washington University who is an expert on subprime lending.

The metro area's highest foreclosure rates are in minority communities.

At 49 percent, blacks were the most likely minority group in metro Atlanta to end up with a subprime loan. For Hispanics, about a third of home buyers got a subprime loan in 2005 and 2006. Only 10 percent of Asians used a subprime loan to buy a house, the lowest of any group.

Federal mortgage lending statistics show that blacks and Hispanics across the country are much more likely than whites and Asians to end up with a subprime loan.

Subprime mortgages across Georgia are nine times more likely to be seriously delinquent or in default than prime mortgages, according data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A national study of credit scores of all consumers, not just mortgage loan applicants, found that 52 percent of blacks have credit scores that would classify them as subprime borrowers, compared with 16 percent of whites.

Fittingly, Atlanta also hosted the Hip-Hop Summit's Financial Empowerment Tour on Saturday.

Their message: "get your money right." Or to put it another way, bling doesn't grow on trees.

Jermaine Dupri warned of trying to emulate the lifestyles of the hip and famous.

"Kids watch these music videos and they want what they see," said LaVar Arrington, a former All-Pro linebacker with the Washington Redskins. "They want the fast cars, the big money, but they don't see there's a lot that comes with it. Sometimes it's harder to keep money than to make it.