Much of the cape is high enough that mortgage applicants were not required to have flood insurance.
The system let the bank respond to mortgage applicants in 15 minutes or less, but Citicorp made too many ill-advised loans.
The one most widely available to mortgage applicants, industry executives said, is Fannie Mae's product, which is offered by many big lenders.
Financial institutions are already required to gather race and gender information for mortgage applicants.
Lenders also sometimes use 30 percent as a rule of thumb for judging whether mortgage applicants are going to be able to make their payments.
It was just when interest rates dipped and the banks had a backlog of mortgage applicants anxious to lock in the rates.
The loan is available only to mortgage applicants at the bank.
Bankers have rolled out the welcome mat for mortgage applicants with sufficient income, good credit ratings and job stability.
The settlement followed tests in which white officials posing as mortgage applicants were treated better than black officials even though they presented similar financial profiles.
According to a survey that Mr. Duncan oversaw, more than 30 percent of mortgage applicants talk to only one lender.