black…MYstory

You know, it’s bad enough that we are forking over what is could end up as trillions of dollars in bailouts but, now we find out that the many of the very banks and financial institutions that taxpayers have been helping out thumbed their noses up at hiring some of the very people that are getting them out of a jam now — American workers.

Just look at what the Associated Press uncovered:

Banks collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the U.S. for high-paying jobs, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.

The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.

The figures are significant because they show that the bailed-out banks, being kept afloat with U.S. taxpayer money, actively sought to hire foreign workers instead of American workers. As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP’s analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in fiscal 2007 to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.

Now, think about that.  You see, the excuse that allowed for the explosion of H1-B visas in this country has been that companies can’t find Americans with the needed skills to fill those positions.  However, in our current economic situation, I find it hard to believe that there aren’t enough skilled American workers to do these jobs (actually, this argument didn’t hold water in better economic times, either).  But, the biggest slap in the face is that while these banks don’t have a problem with taking the American worker’s tax money, in the form of a bailout, they appear to have a problem offering jobs to Americans.

Sadly, this is just one more reason why you don’t just shove more money into the hands of people that messed up the money the first time — it’s clear that they don’t exercise the proper judgement needed to make good decisons.

Popularity: 18% [?]

I can remember, from many years back, the Congressional Black Caucus railing against subprime lending.  Back then, they called it by a more appropriate term, “predatory lending”.

What they were seeing was evidence, both anecdotal and empirical, that minority homebuyers, particularly Black and Latino homebuyers, were being steered toward these predatory loans, even while White borrowers in similar financial situations were being steered toward conventional loans.

A new report issued by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) sheds light on just how prevalent the racial disparities in these home loans really really are.

Below is a an excerpt of an article discussing this report:

According to the report, minorities are paying more for mortgages, even as their income levels increase. Loan price disparities, as compared to white counterparts, were more common for middle to upper-income (MUI) African-American and Hispanic borrowers than pricing disparities were for low- and moderate-income minority borrowers.

Lending disparities for African-Americans and Hispanics also increased significantly as income levels increased. During 2006, middle- and upper-income (MUI) African-Americans were twice or more as likely to receive high-cost loans as MUI whites in 155 of the metro areas analyzed (71.4 percent). Furthermore, MUI Hispanics were twice or more as likely to receive high-cost loans as MUI whites in 45 of the metro areas analyzed (22.5 percent).

In comparison, while low- and moderate-income (LMI) minorities are more likely to receive high-cost loans than LMI whites, the disparity was less significant than disparities among MUI borrowers. LMI African-Americans were twice or more as likely to receive high-cost loans as LMI whites in 87 metro areas (47.3 percent). Furthermore, LMI Hispanics were twice or more as likely to receive high-cost loans as LMI whites in 8 metro areas (4.9 percent).

Significant levels of high-cost lending unnecessarily impede wealth building in minority communities. High-cost loans have significantly contributed to the current foreclosure crisis, wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage equity. The overwhelming and unexplained prevalence of high-cost lending in minority communities suggests that some level of discriminatory behavior continues in the mortgage finance market, as has been shown by other studies, including those utilizing creditworthiness data conducted by NCRC, the Center for Responsible Lending and the Federal Reserve.

The last paragraph is particularly telling.  It states that creditworthiness is not necessarily the determining factore in whether or not a minority borrower would get a more expensive/riskier loan.

Granted, the onus is on us to become more financially-literate but, by no means, does this excuse away discriminatory practices on the part of lenders.

Popularity: 26% [?]