Banks make their profits from fees on mortages. They do not make their income from interest rates. The purpose of variable interest rates. is to be able to bundle loans in order to sell them mostly to Fannie mae.Quote from Ricter:
The data also suggests that Latinos and blacks with good credit were especially at risk for ending up with higher-rate mortgages.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Quote from jficquette:
While debt‐to‐income ratios were broadly similar across these demographic groups,
black borrowers had lower credit scores while Asian and Hispanic borrowersâ scores tended to
exceed the overall average. Black borrowers were more likely to have very low FICO scores
(below 560) and less likely to have very high scores (above 719). In light of this, it is perhaps
unsurprising that initial interest rates received by black borrowers averaged approximately 20
basis points higher than the overall average, while Asian and Hispanic borrowersâ rates were
25‐36 basis points lower than average. Margins for 2/28 loans, which is the amount added to
the 6‐month LIBOR rate to determine the adjustable rate in the future, follow a similar pattern,
although the differences are smaller than they are for origination rates.__
Quote from Ricter:
"A good credit score did not protect Latino and black borrowers
By Algernon Austin | January 19, 2012
"In recent years, Latino and African American consumers with good credit scores of 660* and higher have too often ended up with high interest rate mortgages, mortgages which are supposed to go to risky borrowers. These higher-rate mortgages increased the likelihood of foreclosure among Latinos and blacks. The higher foreclosure rates of these groups help explain why Latinos and blacks have seen such dramatic declines in wealth [link].
"From 2004 to 2008, only 6.2 percent of white borrowers with credit scores of 660 and above ended up with higher-rate mortgages. Latinos and blacks with good credit scores, however, were three times as likely to end up with higher-rate mortgages.
"Borrowers of all races suffered from the anything-goes attitude of the housing boom. The Wall Street Journal has reported [link] that more than half of high interest rate loans during the peak years of the boom went to borrowers who should have qualified for prime mortgages. The data also suggests that Latinos and blacks with good credit were especially at risk for ending up with higher-rate mortgages.
"Discriminatory housing practices are one reason why our country needs a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A powerful CFPB helps make sure that everyone is treated equally and fairly by the financial services industry.
<img src="http://www.epi.org/m/?src=http://www.epi.org/files/2011/Snapshot_higher-rate-mortgages_main.png&w=608">
" *The Fair Isaac Corporationâthe company that created the FICO scoreâclassifies scores of 660 and above as âgood.â
http://www.epi.org/publication/latino-black-borrowers-high-rate-subprime-mortgages/