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Financial System
“Income is how you get out of poverty; assets are how you stay out.” How do we build policies, programs, and products that reduce systematic inequality and advance financial security for all?
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Affordable Housing Financing Is Overpriced, But It Doesn’t Have to Be
Affordable housing construction finance reflects market norms, but its track record shows it’s far less risky than conventional market-rate housing loans. While lower default rates should lead to lower interest rates, they currently do not.
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Taking the Long View in Texas
What kind of city does Austin want to be? According to Imagine Austin, a new comprehensive city plan, it could someday be considerably different than the one it has been. […]
Strange Bedfellows
What does it mean to stabilize neighborhoods at scale? Barring the appearance of a community development fairy godmother, it means having resources. The past several years have seen an outpouring […]
Extending a Bank Branch to the Community
The systemic closing of bank branches in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods is followed by payday lenders, pawnshops, and check cashing services stepping in to fill the void.
Does the Current Reliance on Credit Scores Deny Deserving Applicants?
Last week, we asked readers if credit scores were too much of a driver in home loan approval. You answered overwhelmingly that yes, credit scores prevent often worth applicants from […]
More Mission
The Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Banks is a marked success, and should be a model for expanding the system’s investment in economic development.
Economic Development at FHLBanks
FHLB: Atlanta PROGRAM: Economic Development and Growth Enhancement Program (EDGE) MEMBER: Branch Banking & Trust of North Carolina (BB&T Bank) RESULT: In the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Emmaus Services […]
Is the Mortgage Interest Deduction Vulnerable?
Shelterforce and the National Housing Institute have been outspoken about the need to change the mortgage interest deduction — the country’s largest housing subsidy, which accrues primarily to wealthy households […]
Bair: Mortgage Crisis Shows We Need a Level Playing Field
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair emphasized the “common goal” that should exist between banks and consumers regarding access to credit and healthy lending for the health of consumers and banks, as […]
The Rising Tide of Bank Protests
Despite Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, distrust for the banking industry in the United States remains palpable, and now we’re beginning to see a sustained, organized counterattack. Bank […]
Can’t Sue ‘Em? You Can Move Your Money
Local governents, frustrated (there’s an understatement for you) with the devastating effects of massive foreclosures have tried suing lenders for essentially offering defective products, and also for discriminatory treatment. Albany […]
Speed ’Em Up or Slow ’Em Down?
the Florida State Legislature was launching a $9.6 million effort intended to unclog the court system by establishing foreclosures-only courts across the state
Shel Trapp, Organizer, NPA Founder, Dies at 75
Shel Trapp has died at the age of 75 after a brief illness. Along with NPA (National People’s Action) co-founder Gale Cincotta, Shel was central to the passage of HMDA […]