6  Lower-income and minority communities were targeted for higher-priced subprime mortgages and, as a result, have experienced high rates of foreclosures. An analysis of 2005 lending indicates that 40 percent of lending in minority communities (those where more than half of the population was minority) were higher-cost subprime loans, compared with 23 percent of loans made elsewhere.
Similar discrepancies were found in areas where the median income was below 80 percent of the average median income. Lei Ding, Janneke Ratcliffe, Roberto Quericia, and Michael Stegman (Spring 2008), “Neighborhood Patterns of High Cost Lending: The Case of Atlanta”, Journal of Affordable Housing & Community Development Law, pp. 193-217. BIS Review 23/2009  3  investment losses.