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NEW YORK (AP) - A New York-based community group on Monday accused Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. of charging higher rates on mortgage loans to black and Hispanic home buyers than to whites. The financial institutions countered that the data were flawed and that their loan policies are fair.
The allegations by Inner City Press-Fair Finance Watch, a consumer advocacy group, were based on the first of a series of contentious reports made public by the government under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.
HMDA requires financial institutions to report information on home loans priced above comparable Treasury rates. First-lien loans must be reported if they exceed the Treasury rate by 3 percentage points, and second mortgages by 5 percentage points.
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