The same day the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development launched
plans for a one-year, $7.5 million probe into discrimination in lending and
homebuying, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America launched its own
independent research organization designed to improve access to home loans for
minorities and low-income people.
The Research Institute for Housing America, backed by the MBAA, is the first
national independent research organization devoted to expanding housing and
mortgage markets to all Americans. Its executive director will be Stephen
Hornburg, currently senior policy director for the Fannie Mae Foundation.
"We need to be armed with the knowledge to deliver housing and mortgage credit
to families and individuals who have been locked out of the American dream,"
said Donald Lange, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.
"It's not only good public policy, it's good business."
Lange said the Research Institute for Housing America will be dedicated to
objective, credible research on how to increase housing opportunity --
particularly for under-served populations and communities. Through its research
and programs, the Institute will generate better understanding of how these
markets can be improved, and how public policy can promote greater access to
housing and mortgage credit.
The Institute will operate as a virtual think-tank, working in partnership with
scholars, advocates, regulators, consumers, community representatives, and
industry leaders to produce the best knowledge base on which to base policy
development and business practice.
The Institute will also pursue research that:
- Addresses fair lending, fair housing and discrimination in the housing and
mortgage markets;
- Expands the markets for housing and mortgage credit;
- Assesses the costs and benefits of homeownership; and
- Analyzes public policy and legal theory concerning housing and mortgage
opportunities.
"We have made substantial progress in eliminating barriers to housing
choices and homeownership,"Hornburg said. "The Institute will be a catalyst for
creating and using new knowledge to expand housing choice and build stronger
communities."
Attorney General Janet Reno and Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo released letters
supporting the institute.
"Right now, not everyone is getting a fair deal," Anne Schnare, senior vice
president of corporate relations for mortgage company Freddie Mac, said.
A national coalition of community groups released a study last week showing
that blacks and Hispanics were rejected for traditional home mortgages at a
higher rate than white applicants from 1995 through 1997. The rejection rates
for those two minority groups were reported to have risen even as a strong
economy, low interest rates and easy terms allowed many families to buy homes
for the first time.
While admitting isolated problems, industry critics of the study noted that it
did not take into account applicants' income levels or credit records, key
elements in mortgage and lending decisions.
Published: November 19, 1998
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