The shifting landscape of DEI and racial discrimination in mortgage lending
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Time & Date
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10:30 am
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12:00 pm,
December
12,
2025
(Friday)
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Venue
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Room D804, Teaching Complex D Building
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| TOPIC | The shifting landscape of DEI and racial discrimination in mortgage lending |
| TIME&DATE | 10:30 am - 12:00 am, December 12, 2025 (Friday) |
| Venue | Room D804, Teaching Complex D Building |
| Speaker |
Tracy Yue Wang University of Minnesota |
| Abstract | This study examines how large swings in societal sentiment toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) influence racial discrimination in U.S. mortgage lending. We use the Black-White racial mortgage rate gap in Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) guaranteed mortgage loans to capture racial discrimination. Preliminary results show an immediate, significant, and persistent decline in racial discrimination following the murder of George Floyd (GF) in May 2020. The reduction is more pronounced among lenders that adopted a more pro-DEI stance post-GF or compete with pro-DEI lenders in the local mortgage market. To further investigate factors contributing to the resilience of equity gains when pro-DEI sentiment weakens, we leverage the wave of state-level anti-DEI legislation in 2023 and 2024 to examine i) whether a reversal of public DEI sentiment affects discrimination, and ii) how market competition and fair lending enforcement mitigate the impact of public sentiment reversal on mortgage lending discrimination. The results of this study help inform debates about the resilience of social equity achievements in contested political environments and enhance our understanding of how social and market forces can interact to jointly mitigate discrimination and promote equity in financial markets. |
| Biography |
Tracy Yue Wang is currently John Spooner Professor of Finance and the chairperson of the Finance Department at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Outside the university, Tracy currently serves as an editor for Journal of Corporate Finance and an associate editor for Review of Corporate Finance Studies. Tracy’s research expertise is in corporate governance and behavioral finance. Her current research focuses on the impact of prominent societal trends such as increasing attention to ESG, DEI, income inequality and increasing polarization in ideology on financial markets, corporate finance and corporate governance. She has also established expertise in research related to corporate securities fraud, securities market regulation, and the value impact of management. Tracy has published extensively in premier finance, accounting, and economic journals and is regularly quoted by the business press. |
