In the News

MarketWatch, March 31, 2022, Budgeting tips for new homeowners The Housing Counseling Network at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) is a HUD-approved collective of agencies made up of mortgage advisers offering guidance on budgeting, credit, financial management and savings techniques. Its director, Ibijoke Akinbowale, recommends planning to spend 1%–2% of your home’s purchase price in ongoing […]

PR Newswire, March 31, 2022, Zest AI Joins NCRC’s Innovation Council for Financial Inclusion Zest AI, a leader in software for AI-driven lending, has joined the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) Innovation Council for Financial Inclusion. The Innovation Council is a forum to create collective action between the financial technology community and grassroots community leaders

Commercial Observer, March 28, 2022, Bank Branches, Once Retail Staple, Closing by the Hundreds “There’s a surprising lack of information and data on how many branches banks really need right now,” said Jason Richardson, senior director of research at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), which recently released a report digging into bank branch trends and their

HousingWire, March 29, 2022, Inside the government’s feeble fight to end redlining Few community groups have the firepower of NCRC, which brought in nearly $40 million in revenue in 2020, in part from renting out two office buildings in downtown Washington, D.C.. But NCRC acknowledges it can only make a limited mark on combating lending discrimination. One

VitalLaw, March 28, 2022, CONSUMER CREDIT—CFPB receives public comments on ‘buy now, pay later’ programs The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) have responded to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s request for public comment on “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) products and business practices. BNPL credit is a deferred payment

US Department of Housing and Urban Development, March 24, 2022, What They are Saying: Stakeholders, Advocates, Elected Officials Applaud Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity Task Force Action Plan National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) General Counsel Brad Blower and Senior Director of Policy Megan Haberle: Today the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity

The GW Hatchett, March 28, 2022, DC mayoral candidate talks campaign, future of DC D.C. mayoral candidate and at-Large Council member Robert White discussed his campaign and plans for the city in the University Student Center Thursday. White, a fifth-generation D.C. resident, outlined many of his goals as mayor, including lowering homicide rates, combating poverty

The Miami Herald, March 26, 2022, They didn’t pay a hitman with the cash. Why aren’t more minority PPP loans in Miami being forgiven? | Editorial There have been headline-making abuses of federal Paycheck Protection Program loans in South Florida, known for years as the fraud capital of the nation. There’s evidence of bias from

Shelterforce, March 24, 2022, Say It With Your Chest: Race Matters in Lending For decades, the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act has allowed banks to offer special mortgage programs specifically for “disadvantaged” homebuyers. The law creates an exception to anti-discrimination rules so banks can boost their lending to people of color and other underserved groups

The Final Call, March 23, 2022, Redlining’s legacy endures as 45 million Americans breathe polluted air: Study More than half a century after the official end of discriminatory redlining, 45 million people across the United States—overwhelmingly in communities of color—are exposed to elevated levels of illness-inducing air pollution, a study published March 9 affirmed. Although redlining

Miami Herald, March 24, 2022, PPP loans were made to be forgiven. In heavily Black areas like South Florida, many aren’t Researchers at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which advocates for better financial and housing access for minorities and underserved groups, sent white and Black borrowers with similar financial profiles to banks to inquire about

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, March 2022, Revisiting the Community Reinvestment Act A key question was how to best define bank assessment areas so that they do not reflect illegal discrimination or arbitrarily exclude LMI census tracts. Some community advocates favor a broadening of assessment areas. “This is a huge area,” says Josh Silver of

The Center for Public Integrity, March 22, 2022, How can we close our racial wealth gap? The same dynamics play out in the credit-score system that affects our ability to get a loan or rent an apartment. “A credit score kind of bakes in the racial wealth divide to begin with,” said Jesse Van Tol,

American Banker, March 23, 2022, Why Truist is working on a new community investment pledge NCRC has been encouraging banks to renew their community benefit agreements “whether they are merging or not,” the group’s CEO, Jesse Van Tol, said in an email. “Several of our bank partners — including Truist — have proactively approached us

AL.com, March 22, 2022, What the Black homeownership gap looks like across Alabama What’s more concerning is the gap is widening. According to the 2020 National Community Reinvestment Coalition Home Mortgage Report, home loan originations to majority-minority neighborhoods declined to 18.5% in that year from 19.1% just two years prior. January 2022 data also shows