Analysis and points of view on research, trends, issues, ideas and opportunities.
Data is the sunlight that makes possible the fight against discrimination. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), however, is considering changing its method of disseminating loan data that would make it less readily available to the public and significantly hamper our collective ability to root out unfair and discriminatory practices.
The CFPB needs to keep easy access to HMDA data Read More »
By 2021, the most popular and widely-used interest-rate benchmark, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), will no longer exist as a benchmark for the $2 trillion in outstanding loans in the United States. In its place will most likely be the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), which is broadly considered to be more robust and realistic than LIBOR. Nearly every borrower in the country that is paying off debt that is set based on the LIBOR will be affected by this change.
By 2021, big changes for interest rates could spell trouble for borrowers Read More »
Data on community development lending and investing is lacking on a census tract level, making the information incomplete and difficult to assess. However, this is not the case for home mortgage lending data and small business loan data. If the federal regulatory agencies truly want to reform CRA, the first place to start is with better data. It would be a win-win for both banks and community organizations by facilitating identification of underserved areas. It would also further CRA’s objectives of directing access to credit and capital where it is needed most.
Increasing community development financing data a necessary component for CRA reform Read More »
As explanations of the racial wealth gap and the persisting structural inequality of the U.S. economy, Dr. Mehrsa Baradaran’s 2017 book, The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, is the ideal shelf-mate to Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, published the same
Book review: The Color of Money Read More »
In order for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to protect millions of consumers from unsound lending, the agency must implement the public disclosure of the enhanced Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data in a rigorous manner that provides comprehensive and public information about loan terms and conditions. NCRC has a mantra about the importance
Robust data on home lending essential to fair and equitable treatment of borrowers Read More »
Banks want more certainty and easier exams, but points of consensus emerge.
Analysis of public comments on the Community Reinvestment Act Read More »
Listen to this discussion hosted by NCRC’s Senior Civil Rights Investigator Rose Ramirez, featuring Community Reinvestment Act Manager Kevin Hill and Senior Community Reinvestment Act Advisor Josh Silver on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding CRA and what it means to communities throughout the country.
Audio: What is going on with the Community Reinvestment Act? Read More »
Like most beneficiaries of the Community Reinvestment Act, I was completely oblivious to this invisible law. Now I am grateful every day, seeing how clearly my parents’ homeownership transformed my life.
Affordable homeownership allowed my family to refinance after a health crisis Read More »
Today marks the 41st anniversary of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a law that was supposed to end discrimination that was once common in America’s housing and banking markets. Although not as widely known as other iconic releases of 1977 including the very first Star Wars movie, Fleetwood Mac’s album Rumours, or the Apple II
As concerned citizens and practitioners in the affordable housing and community development fields, we now have a clear choice regarding the direction of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). Senator Elizabeth Warren and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (under the leadership of Comptroller Joseph Otting) have each offered contrasting visions for the
Warren housing bill presents a clear choice on CRA Read More »
Living Longer: We Need Age-Friendly Banking Like most institutions, the American banking system must evolve to meet current needs. Although we all age, and although people on average are living longer and healthier lives, our society has yet to adjust for this substantial demographic shift. Age-Friendly Banking is a set of recommendations that NCRC has
Charting the future course of Age-Friendly Banking Read More »
The idea behind the one ratio is that it will immediately signal to banks whether they are in compliance with CRA and can reasonably expect to pass their next CRA exam.
The one big CRA fight over the one ratio Read More »
My daughter will be attending college near Charlotte, North Carolina, in the fall. As part of her orientation, the college asks all incoming freshmen to read a common book. This year, the book was Color and Character by North Carolina historian Pamela Grundy, a story about the struggle for integration and educational equity in Charlotte, North
An old American struggle, always new Read More »
Herbert J. Rubin’s new book, Advocacy for Social Change, is an important primer for those who seek to promote social change through national organizations. Many books discuss the corrosive effect of money in politics and lobbying organizations, but few are devoted to how those representing the have-nots organize on a national level to fight for laws
Advocacy for social change: Coalitions and the organizations that lead them Read More »
History matters and memorials are important. But the National Memorial for Peace and Justice is an unfinished story.
White place. Wrong type. Read More »
