Financial reporter John Carney — brother of Examiner political columnist Tim Carney — reports at MSNBC that bank credit standards are going to be challenged as racist:
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Banks will be accused of employing discriminatory credit standards when making mortgages in a series of fair housing complaints that a national consumer coalition plans to file beginning next week.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition plans to challenge the widespread practice of requiring borrowers asking for FHA-backed loans to have higher FICO scores than the minimum required by the FHA, according to a report from Ken Harney at New Times.The FHA requires a minimum FICO score of 500. Borrowers with down-payments as low as 3.5 percent must have a score of at least 580. Borrowers with scores between 500 and 580 must put a minimum of 10 percent down.
Several banks require higher rates. At the start of 2009, many banks moved their minimum FICO score for an FHA backed loan up to 620.
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition plans to challenge the widespread practice of requiring borrowers asking for FHA-backed loans to have higher FICO scores than the minimum required by the FHA, according to a report from Ken Harney at New Times.The FHA requires a minimum FICO score of 500. Borrowers with down-payments as low as 3.5 percent must have a score of at least 580. Borrowers with scores between 500 and 580 must put a minimum of 10 percent down.
Several banks require higher rates. At the start of 2009, many banks moved their minimum FICO score for an FHA backed loan up to 620.
Note the median FICO score is 723. But requiring a score of 620 to get a home loan with only 3.5 percent down is racist? Huh? Wasn’t giving people with poor credit huge loans with nothing down the reason we got into this whole mess in the first place?
What are we supposed to do here? Oh look, they’re accusing us of being racist again for deigning to look at a person’s credit history. Just give them the house in Florida and tell congress to send another cash truck to Fannie Mae.
