In what has to be one of the most self-serving pieces of authorship I've ever seen, the law firm of Traiger & Hinckley LLP has released a report (pdf) in which it concludes that there is

"no meaningful differences in the pricing of first lien loans with reported rate spreads to homebuyers of different race and sex.  On average, African American and white borrowers paid essentially the same rate spread, and Hispanic borrowers paid less than whites.  The rate spread for men and women were almost identical."

Sounds great, doesn't it.  Makes it look like lenders are pillars of society.  And it's an accurate statement - unfortunately the truth is buried under the rubble.  In order to understand what the report statistics really show we need to understand the concept of "rate spread."  The report notes that

"Effective for mortgage loans originated in 2004, HMDA requires mortgage lenders to report the spread between a loan's APR and the comparable Treasury yield, where the spread is at least three percentage points for first-lien loans…"

In other words, the study, which included HMDA data from "ten leading national mortgage lenders" included information on ONLY those loans in which the loan APR was so egregious that it required additional reporting under HMDA.  Again, only those loans where the APR was at least three percentage points above the comparable Treasury yield were included in the study.  Thus, the study data was based on only those loans where the clients were most likely being ripped-off.

So, while the reports authors concluded,

"If lenders are treating the most vulnerable borrowers equitably, it seems unlikely that they are otherwise engaged in illegal discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or sex." 

my conclusion would be a bit different,

Of those consumers who are being ripped-off, many of whom are likely being pressured into a loan with a higher rate than an honest lender would offer, we are happy to report that they are being ripped-off equitably. 

Isn't that the real story; rather than making some logically flawed argument that because I don't beat my wife I probably don't sexually abuse my children (sorry but I want to make the point).

By the way, the law firm of Traiger & Hinckley LLP represents "financial services entities throughout the United States on all facets of fair lending…"  And aids "in the defense of an institution under regulatory scrutiny."  But I didn't have to tell you that, did I?