Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article, “Fintech’s relationship with subprime lending in immigrant gateway metropolitan areas,” in the Journal of Urban Affairs. Dr. Lee and her collaborator Tyler Haupert looked at the all-online mortgage loan application process known as fintech loans and found that immigrant gateways are associated with higher rates of subprime lending than areas with low rates of immigration.
The study suggests that metropolitan and tract-level racial and ethnic patterns remain key factors in shaping subprime lending rates in a rapidly evolving mortgage credit market. These findings highlight the continuing importance of race and ethnicity in lending and the need for monitoring discrimination in evolving financial technology.
Read the full article in the Journal of Urban Affairs. Congratulations to Dr. Lee on her publication!
Abstract
Financial technology lending (fintech) is a subset of the mortgage industry characterized by all-online application processes and the inclusion of non-traditional applicant data in underwriting decisions. While national studies suggest that fintech lenders mimic traditional lenders and distribute subprime loans to minority borrowers and neighborhoods at higher rates than to white borrowers and neighborhoods, these studies exclude regional differences by race/ethnicity and nativity. We assess variation in neighborhood-level fintech and traditional subprime lending rates across immigrant gateway metropolitan areas. Using Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, we find that immigrant gateways are associated with higher rates of subprime lending than metropolitan areas with low rates of immigration. Results suggest that neighborhood-level composition of Asian and Latinx residents mediate the relationship between subprime lending and immigrant gateways in distinct ways depending on lender type. Findings suggest metropolitan and tract-level racial and ethnic patterns remain key factors in shaping subprime lending rates in a rapidly evolving mortgage credit market.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
