A 1993 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston determined that banks discriminate against black and Hispanic applicants for mortgages, leading the Comptroller of the Currency to closely monitor banks' lending policies, and also leading to investigations by the Justice Department and the Massachusetts Attorney General. However, a later study concluded that the Boston Fed's results were dominated by two banks that had relatively high rejection rates of minorities only because they specialized in soliciting loans from marginally qualified minority applicants. The original study apparently failed to examine default rates among various groups, also finding that white applicants were effectively "discriminated" against by banks who were more likely to approve loans to Asians.

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