Donald Trump: African-Americans have been “treated terribly” by banks
Donald Trump held a meeting with black and Latino activists at Trump Tower in New York City on Thursday morning as part of his outreach efforts to reach key voting blocs as he pushes towards the November election.
[jwplatform VUfagdd3-GqX43ZoG]
During the meeting, Trump made appeals to both groups and continued his recent attack on Democratic policies that he claims have failed African-American and Hispanic communities over time.
–Donald Trump: My supporters include ‘many, many blacks’
“They’ve really been let down by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats,” said Trump.
TheGrio asked Mr. Trump what he would do to end discriminatory bank lending practices, which deeply impact African-American communities. Trump responded saying the issue was a problem.
“The African American population has absolutely been treated terribly by the banks,” Trump told theGrio. “If you’re African American it’s very hard to get a loan, and I want to look into it. I’ve heard it from so many people when they go into a bank they have good credit, they have a good job, they’re African-American. They can’t get a loan under any circumstances. They go from bank to bank to bank.”
–Supreme Court to hear NJ housing discrimination case
The Republican presidential nominee was asked if he would consider auditing the nation’s top banks but he stopped short of making a commitment. “We’re gonna look into it,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal reported in June that fewer mortgages were approved for black applicants by big banks in 2014 than in 2007 (down 5.3 percent from 7.8 percent).
When it came to “jumbo loans” or mortgages above $417,000, WSJ reported that the majority of jumbo loans go to white and Asian applicants, while only 3 percent of Hispanics and 1.3 percent of blacks comprise borrowers from the biggest banks.
The Greenlining Institute and Urban Strategies Council found that the nation’s 12 top banks gave black borrowers only 4 home loans in the entire city of Oakland, California, in 2013. The city’s Latino population fared only slightly better, with 7 home loans according to the same study.
–Discrimination settlement holds subprime lenders accountable
At a town hall earlier this year, Hillary Clinton pledged to “provide more help so that more homeowners, Hispanic homeowners, African-American homeowners, those who want to have access to better credit, and better support.”
This month, Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine announced a fair housing plan to address discrimination nationwide, which included expanding the supply of low income tax credits and bolstering resources to “enforce Fair Housing laws and fight housing discrimination in all its forms.”
You Might Like
