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Lending Equity Ordinance
Working to close the racial wealth gap.
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What is the Lending Equity Ordinance?
Passed on Sept. 14, 2021, the Lending Equity Ordinance increases transparency and public input in selecting the city’s banking partners. This initiative is a response to data and community reports that unequal access to mortgage loans is still a major barrier to household wealth and neighborhood growth.
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Spearheading the Initiative
NHS, in partnership with the Housing Policy Task Force, led the movement to create accountability and change an inequitable system.
The Ordinance:
- Publishes data collected through the City’s RFP process on the City of Chicago website and Data Portal, including lending data by race, gender, and census tract.
- Creates additional data submission requirements for city depository applicants, including residential and home equity loans by census tract, loan denial rates and reasons by race, gender and census tract; the number and locations of banking facilities by census tract, demographic data on bank employees, and more.
- Requires at least one subject matter hearing held annually by a joint committee of the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Housing and Real Estate between September and October of each year.
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“The Chicago Lending Equity Ordinance represents a critical next step in creating transparent standards in how the City chooses its banking partners accordingly.”
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“Chicago’s Lending Equity Ordinance is a great tool to increase transparency about what financial institutions are doing to support equity in lending, hiring, as well as brand locations. I’m proud to support it.”