RACIAL, ECONOMIC, AND INSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENCES IN HOME-MORTGAGE-LOANS - ST-JOSEPH COUNTY, INDIANA

Numerous studies have documented racial and economic disparities in th e home mortgage market. Almost all of these have been done in large ur ban areas, many of which have long histories of racial conflict and di scrimination. Further, little attention has been paid to institutional disparities, i.e., the ways in which mortgage lenders differ among th emselves in their community reinvestment performance. In this study, w e profile the home mortgage lending of several institutions doing busi ness in the medium-sized urban area of St. Joseph County, Indiana. We find tremendous differences between lenders, suggesting that bank prac tices and policies exert a great impact on how well low income and min ority neighborhoods and individuals are served. Lender characteristics , such as the legal structure of the institution (e.g., commercial ban k, credit union, savings and loan), branch locations, and other factor s are associated with these disparities. We conclude by suggesting tha t several heretofore ignored variables need closer examination.