angela ciccolo – making homeownership fair
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photo by steed media service |
General Counsel, NAACP
Like a smart missile torpedoing towards its target with destructive intent, Angela Ciccolo is surging forward to demolish the subprime and predatory lending industry as it exists in America today. Ciccolo, the general counsel for the NAACP, leads the federal class-action lawsuit against the most notorious practitioners. The suit charges that lenders routinely give much higher interest rates — even to higher qualified blacks. “There are many cities in urban areas infested by the predator and subprime market lenders,” she said following a press conference at the 98th NAACP convention in Detroit. Motown, incidentally, leads the nation in foreclosures.
“You look in any major newspaper, there’s a story about this problem every day,” she adds. “The NAACP’s question is: why is it that black borrowers with the same qualifications — or even better qualifications — get charged more and higher rates. Race is a factor and it’s time to put an end to it.”
Ciccolo is seeking a change in the way mortgage lenders and financial institutions do business. A study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition revealed damning findings. Compared to 23 percent of Caucasians, blacks were given subprime loans 54 percent of the time — even when blacks were more qualified. “It’s the race of the borrower, in a large percentage of the cases, that makes a difference in what rates they receive,” she says. “It’s a pleasure to have the data now to prove what people have been saying for years at the kitchen table. And it affects the mothers and fathers and the elderly people and it needs to stop.” – terry shropshire
