Act. Any person who feels that they have faced lending discrimination can file a fair housing complaint. FDIC Consistent with many jurisdictions throughout the country, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"), based in part on a study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, issued a "Policy Statement On Discrimination In Lending" on April 29, 2004, emphasizing the breadth of prohibitions on discriminatory conduct in lending under the ECOA and the FHA. The FDIC Policy Statement explained that "courts have recognized three methods of proof of lending discrimination under the ECOA and the FH Act", including: "Overt evidence of discrimination", when a lender blatantly discriminates on a prohibited basis; evidence of "disparate treatment", when a lender treats applicants differently based on one of the prohibited factors; and evidence of "disparate impact", when a lender applies a practice uniformly to all applicants but the practice has a discriminatory effect on a prohibited basis and is not justified by business necessity. FDIC Policy Statement, p. 5399 (April 29, 2004). Civil Rights Act of 1866 In addition to ECOA and FHA, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, as amended, provides that "[a]ll citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property". 42 U.S.C. § 1982. See also Black flight Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Racial steering Redlining Segregation White flight Sources External links File a housing discrimination complaint Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Discrimination Mortgage industry of the United States