Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 9th May 2025, 10:15:06am EDT

 
 
Session Overview
Session
Track TH5-5: Housing and Household Consumption
Time:
Thursday, 22/May/2025:
1:45pm - 2:30pm

Session Chair: Stephen Zeldes, Columbia University
Session Chair: Adair Morse, Berkeley Haas
Discussant: Neil Bhutta, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Location: Gateway South 216


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Presentations

Measuring and Mitigating Racial Disparities in Large Language Model Mortgage Underwriting

Donald Bowen1, McKay Price1, Luke Stein2, Ke Yang1

1Lehigh University; 2Babson College

We conduct the first study exploring the application of large language models (LLMs) to mortgage underwriting, using an audit study design that combines real loan application data with experimentally manipulated race and credit scores. First, we find that LLMs systematically recommend more denials and higher interest rates for Black applicants than otherwise-identical white applicants. These racial disparities are largest for lower-credit-score applicants and riskier loans, and exist across multiple generations of LLMs developed by three leading firms. Second, we identify a straightforward and effective mitigation strategy: Simply instructing the LLM to make unbiased decisions. Doing so eliminates the racial approval gap and significantly reduces interest rate disparities. Finally, we show LLM recommendations correlate strongly with real-world lender decisions, even without fine-tuning, specialized training, macroeconomic context, or extensive application data. Our findings have important implications for financial firms exploring LLM applications and regulators overseeing AI's rapidly expanding role in finance.

Bowen-Measuring and Mitigating Racial Disparities in Large Language Model Mortgage-992.pdf


 
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