A reader recently wrote in and wanted to know if ethical mortgage shopping was possible:

For a few months now, my fiancé and I have been house-searching for our first home (great time to buy and we’re happy we can take advantage of it!) and we have just had an offer accepted on a house that we love. Now we’re getting into the serious financial stuff, and I am curious whether I can be an ethical shopper when it comes to the bank from which we get our mortgage.

I feel like if we are going to be giving them so much money for years, I’d prefer it to be from a bank that has LGBT-friendly policies or at least doesn’t support anti-LGBT or anti-feminist causes. (I do understand that they can sell our mortgage to whomever they want, so our ability to choose where our money ends up might be limited, but we’d like to try.) Do you have any resources for this, or should we just be googling the banks that quote us the best rates?

That’s a great question and it’s nice to read that you’re trying to be a socially responsible borrower.

The first place I would look is the HRC Foundation’s seventh annual Corporate Equality Index. This report provides analysis and rates large U.S. employers and their policies and practices pertinent to LGBT employees. [You can download the PDF document here for free.]

For example: Citigroup, Bank of America, Fannie Mae, KeyBank and SunTrust all have the perfect ‘œ100’ rating. The average rating across the entire index was 83 in case you were wondering how hard it is to get that top score. It’s a good place to start when considering doing business with major companies (and not just financial services) in the US.

Another approach is to search for a local mortgage broker through Better World Mortgage, a service that merges the power of financial transactions with the creativity and compassion of caring individuals to help solve important social problems:

Every dollar you spend can change the world. Because buying a home is one’s largest purchase, we at Better World Mortgage have created an easy, exciting and powerful way to make a big contribution to a cause about which you care!

Our website is designed to connect home buyers, home builders and refinancing home owners with local green and socially responsible mortgage brokers and loan originators who care deeply about making a positive difference in the world.

Because the mortgage professionals in our nation-wide network are passionate about making the world a better place, they promise to donate a 10% of their gross income as a gift to the charity of your choice – in your name – and you get the tax write off!

I hope that gives you and our readers a few ideas! If anyone has other suggestions, please feel free to comment below.

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