Contact: Kerri Forrest, Marketing Dir.
Phone:  (843) 965-4037
Email: Kerri.Forrest@CTUL.org
Website: www.CTUL.org
 

CHARLESTON TRIDENT URBAN LEAGUE RELEASES REPORT ON THE RATE OF MORTGAGE LENDING IN THE CHARLESTON AREA

Report shows more outreach, education needed to increase minority access to lending
 
 
CHARLESTON, SC – The Charleston Trident Urban League released the 2011 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Report for the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Tuesday, July 20, 2011.  The report examines the region’s financial industry lending practices between 2007 and 2009 as well as lending for 20 banks in the MSA during the same period. The report was released during a meeting with representatives from the City of Charleston and local financial institutions.
 
Otha Meadows, President & CEO of the Charleston Trident Urban League, stressed that the report is not about individual performance but more about understanding what needs to be done collectively.
 
“This report hasn’t been done in many years and I think it’s timely that we do it now. If we’re able to establish the baseline we are better positioned to develop strategies on where we need to go from here,” Meadows said.
 
The report points to problems in both the number of minority applications received by lending institutions as well as the number of minority applications denied. The percentage of blacks and other minorities who made application and received loans remained below 15%; only 11% of the more than 48,000 applications received within the 3 year period were from black applicants and only 9% of the total loans originated (32,551) were from black applicants.
 
In addition, at a rate of almost 2-to-1, black applicants were denied loans compared to their white counterparts, mainly due to poor credit history (42%-24%).  More whites were denied loans due lack of collateral (13%-7%).  
 
The Charleston Trident Urban League recommends that, as the public and private sector look at how to address the disparity in lending, they focus on (1) financial management education, not only for low-to-middle income applicants and (2) increase public awareness of available mortgage options. 
 
The HMDA report was prepared by the Charleston Trident Urban League’s Center for Change and Leadership under contract to the City of Charleston.  Copies of the report are available upon request.