FC: Want a loan? What's your race?

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,31533,00.html

                     'Want a Loan? What's Your Race?'
                     by Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com)

                     3:00 a.m. 15.Oct.99.PDT
                     When you fill out a credit card application
                     or ask your local bank for a car loan or
                     mortgage next year, you may be asked
                     about your religion or race. 

                     Current law prohibits financial institutions
                     from collecting such data, but a proposed
                     federal regulation will allow loan officers
                     to ask about and record color, national
                     origin, and sex. 

                     The Justice Department has strongly
                     urged collecting this information to aid in
                     fair lending prosecutions, and some banks
                     have said that it could be used in
                     marketing and outreach programs. That's
                     a prospect that horrifies some privacy
                     advocates and Republican legislators,
                     who are demanding that the Federal
                     Reserve Board reconsider its plan. 

                     [...]


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