Mortgage Lending In The Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex: Screening For Racial Bias Using HMDA Data

Abstract

This study will look at loan data to screen for potential lending discrimination in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. The data used for screening purposes is the 2003 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Loan Application Register (LAR). HMDA data does not provide a complete picture of an applicant's creditworthiness. It lacks important information such as an applicant's employment and credit histories. As a result, this study cannot make a conclusive finding of racial bias in mortgage lending in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Area. However, this study can determine if there are any indicators of racial bias that would warrant deeper investigation.