美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Mystery Shoppers' Help U.S. Regulators Fight Racial Discrimination At Banks

'Mystery Shoppers' Help U.S. Regulators Fight Racial Discrimination At Banks 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0003:35repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently disclosed it's using a new tactic² to ferret out racial discrimination at banks. It's sending in people who pose as customers. As NPR's Chris Arnold reports, the move is another sign the young watchdog agency is flexing³ its regulatory muscles.

CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE⁴: When the CFPB looked into the Mississippi-based regional bank Bancorp South, it didn't just review thousands of loan applications. It sent in undercover operatives - some white, some black - who pretended to be customers applying for loans.

RICHARD CORDRAY: They had similar credit scores and similar background and situations.

ARNOLD: CFPB director Richard Cordray...

CORDRAY: Our investigation⁵ had found that Bancorp South had engaged in illegal redlining in Memphis, meaning refusing to lend into specific areas of the city.

ARNOLD: That is neighborhoods where most residents were African-Americans or other minorities. Cordray says on top of that, the bank...

CORDRAY: They charged African-American customers higher interest rates for mortgages than similarly situated⁶ white applicants⁷. They'd also denied loans to African-American applicants more often than white applicants.

ARNOLD: Regulators getting people to pose as customers is called testing, and this case marks the first time that the CFPB has said it's using testers for enforcement. It just disclosed that earlier this summer when it announced a $10 million settlement with Bancorp South. The bank did not admit wrongdoing and said in the statement, quote, "Bancorp South is fully⁸ committed to fair and responsible lending practices."

The CFPB is not disclosing the size and scope of its testing operation, but it says it will continue to use this tool when appropriate, and some consumer groups are happy to hear that.

FRED FREIBERG: Absolutely. I mean it's an incredibly powerful tool.

ARNOLD: Fred Freiburg is the founder⁹ of the Fair Housing Justice Center in New York. Before that, for years he ran a testing enforcement program at the U.S. Justice Department. He used his testers to enforce fair housing laws, so they were posing as people looking to buy or rent houses and apartments.

FREIBERG: Testers are the unmarked squad¹⁰ cars in the housing market. It is the most effective way of finding out how people are actually being treated in the marketplace.

ARNOLD: Still, this approach costs money. Freiberg says you need a large, diverse pool of testers. Sometimes they're called mystery shoppers. And some regulatory agencies just don't use this method at all. So he says it's encouraging to him that the CFPB is doing this.

FREIBERG: I hope to see more government agencies understand that this is a tool that they can't do without.

ARNOLD: In the past there's been some pushback against this tool. A few years ago the Department of Health and Human Services scuttled¹¹ plans for a testing program after Republican lawmakers objected. NPR reached out to one of those lawmakers as well as industry groups, and none of them criticized the CFPB in this case. The industry, though, is definitely aware of the undercover effort, and Richard Cordray says he hopes that that serves as a deterrent¹².

CORDRAY: I think it's important for institutions to know that we're going to be looking not just at what they say on paper that they're supposed to be doing but what their people are actually doing in individual cases with individual customers.

ARNOLD: As far as when it's legal for regulators to use mystery shoppers or testers, federal privacy law says you can't do that if you're trying to get personal information about individuals. But Cordray says the CFPB is investigating discrimination by entire companies, and he says that makes testing an appropriate and powerful enforcement tool. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

3 flexing   

n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌

参考例句：

• Flexing particular muscles allows snakes to move in several ways. 可弯曲的特殊的肌肉使蛇可以用几种方式移动。 来自电影对白
• China has become an economic superpower and is flexing its muscles. 中国已经成为了一个经济巨人而且在展示他的肌肉。 来自互联网

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

7 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

11 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 deterrent   

n.阻碍物，制止物；adj.威慑的，遏制的

参考例句：

• Large fines act as a deterrent to motorists.高额罚款是对开车的人的制约。
• I put a net over my strawberries as a deterrent to the birds.我在草莓上罩了网，免得鸟歇上去。