NEW MORTGAGE LENDING STUDY FINDS RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN LENDING TO SENIORS

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) has just released a new report - Mortgages and Older Adults After COVID-19 - on its study of national mortgage lending. This is the first time data on the applicant and co-applicant's age was included in Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) information released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in September, 2019.

The report discusses trends in home buying, aging in place, and use of home equity. Key findings are:

1. Some 30% of mortgages in calendar 2018 went to older adults.
2. About 67% of older adults who got mortgages were refinancing homes and 68% of those used the mortgage to access the equity in their homes.
3. More older borrowers were white than younger borrowers.
4. There are racial disparities in interest rates charged to young and old minority borrowers.

The GBCHRB soon will release its study of the mortgage lending behavior of specific lenders who received mortgage applications from Baltimore City residents. Email Bill Kladky of the GBCHRB at wkladky@gbchrb.org to receive the upcoming report's press release. 

OCC Announces Final CRA Rule Changes, Moves Alone, Without FDIC Or Federal Reserve

By NCRC / May 20, 2020 / Press Releases

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced long-anticipated changes to rules that enforce the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) had previously joined the OCC in the rule-making effort, but it did not join in the final rule released today.

Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and John Taylor, Founder and President of NCRC, made the following statements:

Jesse Van Tol:

“This is an awkward, disjointed and rushed move by a single agency that couldn’t get agreement from the two other agencies that regulate banks within the same administration. The OCC should have been able to agree and work with the other two agencies that oversee enforcement of the same law. It couldn’t. It failed. That’s an administrative fiasco. 

“It is telling that the FDIC wouldn’t join the OCC in this rulemaking process. It is also telling that this final 372-page set of rules came just six weeks after the close of the public comment period, a record-breaking pace, and a day before Comptroller Otting resigns from the agency. He just made a regulatory mess and he isn’t sticking around to fix it.

“The timing is shocking, in the middle of a pandemic that has been hardest on lower-income communities this law is supposed to protect. What an insulting and cruel moment to unleash new rules that will in some cases help banks to do less for some poor communities and communities of color. Those are the communities hit hardest by COVID-19.”

John Taylor:

“This solo move by the OCC breaks what should be a uniform system for all lenders. So if the new rules take hold, which is a big if, we’ll have an even more complex, confusing and broken system that will need to be repaired later.

“Just about everyone who has a stake in CRA, including bankers, urged the agencies to stop the rule-making processes during the COVID-19 crisis. The FDIC listened and opted to not move forward at this time. The OCC didn’t.

“The lack of participation from the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, and the rush to push this final rule through during a global pandemic, is of great concern. These changes are not in the best interest of any of the stakeholders involved, and they are clearly not in the public interest. Almost nobody wanted these rules now, and that included bankers.

*****

Source: NCRC (National Community Reinvestment Coalition).

Go to the original release.

NATIONAL DISABILITY RIGHTS NETWORK LAUNCHES "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" VIDEO DURING COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting every community in the nation. Shuttering schools and workplaces, slowing public transportation, and delaying community-based services. In this series of videos, the National Disability Rights Network explains what your rights are and what you can do if you believe your rights are being violated. We hope this series will help to strengthen self-advocacy, address racial inequities, and protect the rights/lives of people with disabilities. Go to:

https://default.salsalabs.org/Tf7e9c0fb-e8cc-4e0a-b0d8-92914c7e6cd6/5031a076-9097-4ad8-9a08-07575bad44e2

The NDRN has videos on a wide variety of COVID-19 related topics: Transportation Rights Housing Rights Healthcare Rights: The Effects of COVID-19 on the African American Community Stop The Spread in Jails & Prisons Indian Health Services & Medical Rationing *** Source: National Disability Rights Network release, April 28, 2020.

Upcoming Virtual Events at the  Baltimore Office of Equity  & Civil Rights

BMORE VOTES: Author Dr. Ida E. Jones presents Victorine Q. Adams Power of the Ballot April 28, 2020 1PM-2PM Join Office of Equity and Civil Rights Staff and author Dr. Ida E. Jones for a conversation about Victorine Q. Adams, Baltimore City's first Black City Councilwoman, and the power of voting in the civil rights movement.  ***  Can We Talk? Civil Rights, Equity, Health and COVID-19 April 29, 2020 2PM-3pm https://www.eventbrite.com/e/can-we-talk-civil-rights-equity-health-covid-19-tickets-103369093742 Join staff members of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights, leadership from the Baltimore City Health Dept, and Rev. Kobi Little from the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP for a critical discussion on how COVID-19 impacts current health equity issues, and creates new ones. *** AMI and Mental Health Awareness May 1, 2020 10AM-11AM Join staff from the Office of Equity and Civil Rights, as well as the National Mental Health Alliance of Metropolitan Baltimore for an important discussion on Mental Health, in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month.  ***

Source: Email received from City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, April 23, 2020.

Draft 2020 Baltimore Region Fair Housing Analysis Virtual Public Hearing - APRIL 14, 7:00PM

Due to public health concerns related to the coronavirus (COVID-19), this hearing will be Virtual Only via GoToMeeting. To participate in the virtual public hearing, please see the instructions below. For GoToMeeting features for persons with disabilities, please click here. The session will be recorded, and each person will have four minutes for comment.

For additional details, including an agenda and slides for the hearing, please click here.

Download the Draft 2020 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI):

FULL DOCUMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND ACTION STEPS ONLY

COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED: This March 2 draft release begins a public comment period through April 22, 2020 (extended from April 15):

• Please submit comments by email to housing@baltometro.org.

Participate in the Virtual Public Hearing

You can join from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/154848821

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (571) 317-3129

Access Code: 154-848-821

New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/154848821  

Source:https://www.baltometro.org/community/plans/regional-analysis-of-impediments-to-fair-housing-choice?utm_source=Housing_+Insightly+Housing_Fair_Hsng_Stakeholder&utm_campaign=e8d69553c1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_25_05_49_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5a06971cf5-e8d69553c1-591869717

FAIR HOUSING E-NEWS

March-April, 2020 - Vol. 14, No. 2

Welcome to this edition of Fair Housing E-News! This newsletter is produced by the GBCHRB

as a public service. More info/resources: http://www.gbchrb.org.

Just a few of the headlines are:

Race Matters Institute Statement Says COVID-19 is Worsening  Societal Inequality and Communities of Color. Read the March 31, 2020 RMI article.

The Civil Rights Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Reminds that Discrimination During COVID-19 is Prohibited. Read the March 28, 2020 HHS Bulletin.

Urban Institute Study Finds Gap Between White and Black Homeownership Rates is Highest in 50 Years. Read the February 21, 2020 Urban Institute article.

Tax Policy Center (Urban Institute and Brookings Institution) Study Finds Some Tax Policies Exacerbate Income and Wealth Inequalities Coming from Discrimination in Housing, Education, Employment, & Others. Read the January 30, 2020 Tax Policy Center article.

Draft 2020 Baltimore Region Fair Housing Analysis Released for Public Comment. Download the full document: 2020 Analysis Of Impediments To Fair Housing Choice (AI). Please submit comments by email to housing@baltometro.org.

WBALTV 11 Study Documents Widening Racial Gap in Housing Value. Read the February 20, 2020 WBALTV 11 article.

Plans to Build a Mosque on 12-Acre Site in Creswell Area Southeast of Bel Air Condemned by  Local Residents. Read the March 3, 2020 Baltimore Sun article.

*****

To read this issue of Fair Housing E-News: fhnews20marapr.pdf.

GBCHRB

P. O. Box 66180

Baltimore, Maryland 21239-6180

http://www.gbchrb.org

410.929.7640

Draft 2020 Baltimore Region Fair Housing Analysis Released for Public Comment

Since 2012, the Baltimore Metropolitan Council has been assisting local jurisdictions and public housing authorities (PHAs) -- the Baltimore Regional Fair Housing Group -- with regional fair housing planning and implementation.

Building on more than 18 months of work with a consultant team led by Root Policy Research, including ten meetings of a Regional AI Stakeholder Work Group, the Baltimore Regional Fair Housing Group is releasing its draft 2020 regional fair housing analysis for public comment:

Download the full document: 2020 ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR HOUSING CHOICE (AI).

This March 2 draft release begins a 30-day public comment period:

Please submit comments by email to housing@baltometro.org.

The public comment period will end on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

The Fair Housing Group will hold a Public Hearing on Monday, March 23, 6:00 pm at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council office, 1500 Whetstone Way, Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21230. Get directions to BMC.

The BMC office is ADA accessible. If you wish to attend and require a special accommodation (e.g. interpreter for deaf and hard of hearing or interpreter for persons with limited English proficiency), please contact Dan Pontious at dpontious@baltometro.org or 410.732.0500 x1055 no later than March 17.

Six jurisdictions and five public housing authorities (PHAs) carried out this process, with assistance from the Baltimore Metropolitan Council and the Root Policy Research consultants: City of Annapolis and the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County and the Housing Commission of Anne Arundel County, City of Baltimore and the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford County and the Havre de Grace Housing Authority, Howard County and the Howard County Housing Commission.

The new AI will replace the 2012 AI, described below, that jurisdictions and PHAs have been implementing over the past several years. Local governments and PHAs will include action steps from the 2020 AI that pertain to their jurisdiction in their Consolidated Plans and PHA plans for using federal housing funds beginning July 1, 2020.

If you have any questions, please send them to BMC’s housing policy coordinator Dan Pontious at dpontious@baltometro.org with “Fair Housing Analysis” in the subject line.