Our commissioned report delivers an unflinching assessment of the systemic barriers blocking equitable financial access. It exposes the Ethnicity Premium: a structural penalty where diverse ethnic communities consistently pay more for essential products like credit, mortgages, and insurance – even when financial profiles are equivalent.

Key Findings from the report:

1. The ethnicity premium: a structural disadvantage

• Diverse Ethnic Communities (DECs) face higher financial costs when seeking credit, insurance, and mortgages.
• Discriminatory financial practices lead to higher interest rates and increased debt collection activity.
• Postcode profiling disproportionately limits access to fair financial services.

2. Systemic, cultural, and structural barriers

• Discriminatory lending practices reinforce barriers to wealth accumulation.
• Migrant communities experience financial gatekeeping, leading to credit inaccessibility.
• Limited financial education initiatives tailored to Diverse Ethnic Communities (DECs) deepening exclusion.

3. Algorithmic bias and digital financial exclusion

• AI-driven lending models disproportionately reject minority applicants, even when income and creditworthiness are comparable.
• Opaque credit-scoring algorithms reinforce systemic discrimination in lending and insurance products.
• Financial institutions lack transparency and accountability in digital lending policies.

4. Leadership representation and financial policy failures

• Senior leadership in financial institutions still lacks diversity.
• Superficial diversity initiatives have failed to dismantle systemic barriers.
• Regulatory bodies have weak enforcement mechanisms, allowing discrimination to persist unchecked.

5. Alternative financial models and future directions

• Community-based lending schemes provide more equitable financial access.
• Non-traditional credit assessments (e.g., rental payments, community savings participation) should be incorporated into people’s financial histories.
• Policy reforms must introduce anti-discrimination audits and greater accountability measures.

This is not a story of marginal gaps; it is a story of institutional exclusion. We cannot fix what we do not measure.

This report captured by Clearview Research outlines a clear path forward.

The recommendations call for:

• Mandating Transparency and Fairness in Finance
• Embedding Alternative Financial Histories into Credit Risk Assessment
• Enforcing Representation Through Rules, Quotas, and Lived Experience Recruitment
• Embedding Cultural Relevance in Financial Education and Debt Recovery
• Supporting Diverse Ethnic Community Businesses to Start and Scale Enterprise Initiatives.

We urge all financial institutions, policymakers, and stakeholders to read this essential analysis, understand the architectural roots of this exclusion, and join us in driving meaningful, structural change.

🔗 Read the full report

Let’s work together to dismantle the Ethnicity Premium. Contact us directly to discuss how to be involved.