House sets hearings on fair lending.

WASHINGTON -- A House subcommittee chairman, unhappy with the latest data on bank lending practices, plans to hold hearings into the government's enforcement of fair-lending laws.

Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy 2d, D-Mass, chairman of the House Banking subcommittee on consumer credit and insurance, said data released under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reinforced his commitment to proceed with a heating.

Rep. Kennedy sponsored the amendment that resulted in the release of the data. The data for last year found that black mortgage applicants remained twice as likely as whites to be rejected for a home loan.

Mr. Kennedy, who called the numbers "particularly disturbing," said his subcommittee would look into enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the Community Reinvestment Act.

A congressional staffer said the hearings would likely occur before the end of the year.

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