While the subprime mortgage boom and bust has been well documented, less attention has been paid to the practices of prime lenders, the brick and mortar banks that are now also struggling as a result of the subprime meltdown. These lenders are now eligible for taxpayer funds under the U. S. Treasury’s Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) that Congress authorized through the $700 billion Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
In its Dec. 2008 study “Bailing Out on Community Reinvestment,” the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council examined the recent fair lending record of St. Louis-area lenders that have applied for or expressed an interest in applying for TARP funds.