CreditCard.com: Who Gets Credit Cards May Be A Matter Of Black And White

From CreditCard.com:

People living in white neighborhoods are more likely to be approved for credit cards than those living in black neighborhoods, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Banks deny that race is a factor in granting credit cards or setting credit limits. Consumer advocates and fair lending activists, however, say the study is just the latest evidence of systemic, institutionalized racism prevalent in the financial markets. Advocates point to lending bias at major banks and credit card issuers as the reason many low-income, black and Hispanic borrowers are forced to seek loans from payday lenders and other high-interest, high-cost sources.

"It matters where you live," says Ethan Cohen-Cole, the financial economist who conducted the study, released with little fanfare in February 2008. Read on…