Among
California’s
top
25
lenders,
the
six
largest
banks
directed
11.4%
of
their
home
purchase
loans
to
Latino
borrowers,
compared
with
30.5%
among
nonbank
lenders,
according
to
the
report.

“Latino
families
are
driving

homeownership
demand
across
California,
yet
the
data
make
clear
that
major
banks
have
largely
turned
their
backs
on
this
community,”
Orson
Aguilar,
president
and
CEO
of
LatinoProsperity,
said
in
a
statement.
“This
is
not
just
a
lending
imbalance.
It
is
a
structural
threat
to
Latino
wealth
building
and
intergenerational
mobility.”

The

report
found
wide
variation
among
major
banks.

Citibank
posted
the
lowest
Latino
lending
rate
at
5.3%,
followed
by


Wells
Fargo
at
6.8%
—
less
than
one-quarter
of
the
nonbank
average.


JPMorgan
Chase
led
the
banks
analyzed,
with
21%
of
its
home
purchase
loans
going
to
Latino
borrowers.

Regional
disparities
were
also
pronounced.
In
the

San
Francisco
Bay
Area,
Latino
borrowers
received
8.6%
of
home
purchase
loans.
Traditional
banks
in
that
market
served
Latino
borrowers
at
a
4.7%
rate,
compared
with
13.7%
among
nonbank
lenders.

By
contrast,
the
Inland
Empire
and
Fresno
posted
the
strongest
Latino
lending
rates,
at
38.6%
and
38.7%,
respectively.
Even
in
these
more
affordable
markets,
however,
the
report
said
traditional
banks
had
a
limited
presence.

In

Los
Angeles,
home
to
the
largest
concentration
of
Latino
households
in
the
state,
Latino
borrowers
received
19%
of
loans
from
the
top
25
lenders.

The
report
calls
on
banks
to
reestablish
a
stronger
presence
in
Latino-majority
neighborhoods
and
to
set
publicly
measurable
goals
to
increase
Latino
home
purchase
lending.
It
also
urges
state
and
federal
policymakers
to
strengthen

Community
Reinvestment
Act
(CRA)
obligations
and
accelerate
home
construction.