The state attorney general's office is asking Philadelphia residents who think they may have been victims of discrimination when applying for home loans to file complaints with his office.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement Monday that his office is investigating evidence that financial institutions may have denied mortgage loans in Philadelphia or dissuaded people from applying for loans based on applicants' race or ethnicity. Federal law has outlawed the practice named redlining for decades.
The nonprofit news outlet Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting published a series of articles earlier this year looking at 31 million records and identifying lending disparities in 61 metro areas including Philadelphia. The Associated Press published the stories after independently analyzing the data. Shapiro says the articles prompted his investigation.
