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(BusinessWeek) Federal officials have launched an investigation to determine whether 22 mortgage lenders have been discriminating against qualified African-American and Latino borrowers by denying them loans.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Wednesday that the inquiry is in response to complaints filed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition accusing 22 banks nationwide of violating fair housing laws.

The coalition says the lenders denied Federal Housing Administration-insured loans to borrowers with credit scores that met the federal standard. The lenders set higher credit score thresholds, thus excluding many minority borrowers.

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(Asian Journal) Officials from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are urging members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community to report housing and lending discrimination against them.

According to the HUD, the rate of housing discrimination against members of the AAPIcommunity is comparable to that experienced of other minority groups like Hispanics and African Americans, however, only 1 percent of AAPI’s filed a complaint to the HUD. John Trasvina, the assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said it’s important for members of the AAPIcommunity to report such discrimination if they believe it is happening to them.

“As we mentioned, the level and type of discrimination against Asians in buying and lending is comparable to that of other [minority] races but it is often unspoken, unsaid and it is unaddressed,” said Trasvina during a press conference at the HUD office in Downtown Los Angeles.

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