July 13, 2009

Banks need to provide more information about their mortgage lending so regulators and the public can flag risks and potential racism in the housing market, experts say.Amid the ongoing financial crisis, community advocates and the Obama administration are calling for more data to be supplied under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The additional data would help detect patterns of racial discrimination that may exist.

It would also give better insight on types of lending that could lead to another mortgage meltdown.The HMDA data supplied by banks, for example, doesn't currently include borrowers' credit scores, the down payment amount and other details that would give a clearer picture of a lenders' decisions to make or deny a particular loan. In the past, the banking industry has resisted providing more data, saying the requirements were burdensome and could violate borrowers' privacy.