April 19th 2023.
Dr. Bernice King and Ashley Bell, in a new article published in Fortune, have highlighted the fact that the existing credit scoring system is rooted in slavery and segregation, with people of colour facing systemic oppression. This is backed by statistics that show over half of Black Americans, 41% of Hispanic Americans and 18% of Asian Americans have poor or fair credit, compared to 37% of white Americans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has reported that those who are 'credit invisibles' are predominantly Black and Hispanic consumers living in low-income neighbourhoods.
However, modern credit scoring models are designed to eliminate bias, by not taking into account factors such as sex, race, marital status, national origin and religion. But experts such as Frederick Wherry, professor of sociology at Princeton University, have argued that the data used in these models can be influenced by generational wealth that many Black and Hispanic borrowers lack. King and Bell have called out corporations, particularly financial institutions, who have made pledges towards economic equity initiatives, to abandon the outdated and biased credit scoring model. They argue that this is an effective way of reducing inequality.
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