UC Law SF International Law Review
Abstract
This Note suggests that the dramatic reform of American fair lending law now contemplated by Congress would replicate the ineffective British model for preventing loan discrimination. The Note begins with an examination of the problem of lending discrimination in the United States, and surveys legislation adopted in the last thirty years which addresses the problem. It then considers the more poorly documented phenomenon of loan discrimination in the United Kingdom, and reviews the limited British legislation and enforcement measures available to combat such discrimination. The Note discusses three reform proposals considered by the 104th Congress: (1) removal of the "pattern and practice" authority of the Attorney General to enforce the Fair Housing and Equal Credit Opportunity Acts, (2) creation of "safe harbors" during the Community Reinvestment Act application procedure, and (3) removing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reporting requirements. The Note concludes that the ineffective British experience counsels against the adoption of any of these reform proposals.
Recommended Citation
Steven Kalar,
Two Steps Back: British Lessons for American Fair Lending Reform,
19 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 139
(1995).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol19/iss1/3