Blacks Pay More for Nissan Car Loans

Reuters is reporting that black customers in a majority of U.S. states were charged more than whites for Nissan auto loans between March 1993 and September last year, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. In a statistical study of more than 300,000 car loans arranged through Nissan Motor Co., dealers indicated that black customers in 33 states were more likely than whites to pay more for their car loans, regardless of their credit histories, the paper said. The difference between rates given to black and white borrowers was biggest in Maryland and Wisconsin, where the average finance charge that blacks paid was about $800 higher than that paid by whites, The New York Times said. Nissan and other auto lenders let car dealers make the final decision on how much customers pay for loans, the paper said. A class-action lawsuit in Nashville against Nissan's lending arm and a General Motors Corp. subsidiary that offers financing to dealers, and similar suits against other car lenders, argue that the lenders themselves should be responsible if dealers establish rates in a racially disparate way, the paper said. Officials at Nissan and General Motors were not available for comment. The companies are not accused of racial bias, however, and all sides agree that the lenders do not know the race of customers who buy their cars, The New York Times said. Instead, the suit alleges, lenders' policies have statistically different impact on blacks, the paper said.