Most banks are ignoring what could be a key tool to give equal credit access to people of color and narrow racial wealth gaps, a new report by the Boston-based nonprofit Partnership for Financial Equity argues.
Minority homeownership rates have grown little since the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968. The answer is to create an AmeriCorps of financial educators who can help homebuyers of color afford homes – and keep them.
When Berkshire Bank’s Malia Lazu talks about entrepreneurship, she evokes a kitchen table, the place where family members and friends first talk about investing in the business. For entrepreneurs of color, the wealth gap between whites and people of color in America means these conversations, and the business itself, often never happen.
The Changing Patterns report from the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council has for 25 years identified persistent disparities in mortgage loan approvals among diverse applicants.
