With a population of blacks double that of whites in Baltimore it’s suprising that 2013 figures showed whites still being accepted for twice as many mortgages.

While immediately income could be seen as the likely cause for such a discrepancy a report released today by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (a consumer advocacy group) using the latest government data suggests that the denials in the city are far more aligned with the ethnic makeup of the neighborhoods than to income.

The data and the way it’s collected has made it hard in the past to correlate the data between denials and race but the CRC say they have strong evidence in their report using this data.

Some bankers have been trying to say that the government regulations are more to blame as many people have become less eligible and. Refusals may more likely be related to things like credit scores and available deposits.

Since Freddie Grey died in Police Custody earlier this year tensions around race have been mounting in the city.

Protesters demonstrating at the Baltimore Police Department’s Western District building.

The United States as a whole has a major difference between mortgage denials in blacks and whites. 2013 data showed that 25.5% of blacks were denied their home mortgages while it was only 12.2% in whites. This was according to Federal Reserve analysis.

Whatever the reason it’s clear there is a problem. Denial related to race obviously can create situations where climbing out of poverty is much harder.

Read more details on the Times: http://nyti.ms/1X4HQYy