Introduction




African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos constitute 3.8% of Iowa's population but represent only 1.7% of Iowa's homeowners.

As the state agency charged with eliminating discrimination in Iowa, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) is duty-bound to investigate the racial disparity in Iowa home ownership and determine whether that disparity is the result of discrimination.

In 1995, the ICRC received an 18-month grant from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to study mortgage lending practices in Iowa's eight largest communities.

The ICRC completed the study in six stages. In stage one, the ICRC analyzed 1994 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data and calculated minority/white rejection ratios and minority market shares for each lender in each of the eight communities. In stage two, the ICRC conducted more than one hundred interviews of lending institutions, advocacy groups/city officials, regulatory agencies, real estate representatives, insurance agencies, and appraisal companies. In stage three, the ICRC conducted on-site race and national origin, pre-application tests of mortgage lenders. In stage four, the ICRC surveyed mortgage lenders to determine workforce composition and to check on certain lending procedures. In stage five, the ICRC reviewed and compared loan application files of minority and white applicants. And in stage six, the ICRC calculated community-specific segregation indices.

Information gained from the 18-month study was summarized in the "Operation Home Ownership" Final Report, issued June 2, 1997.

This resport, analyzing 1995 HMDA data for each mortgage lender in each of Iowa's eight largest communities, is meant as a follow-up to the June 1997 Report. A report analyzing 1996 HMDA data should be issued in the Spring 1998.

 

1995 HMDA Main Page