Washington, DC – A new report from the Congressional Oversight Panel shows that the Administration’s leading foreclosure prevention program, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), will modify less than 5% of the loans that will go into foreclosure by program end. An estimated 8 to 13 million foreclosures will take place by 2012. The report […]
While HAMP Program Continues to Fail, Treasury Hides the Ball Read More »
Files 22 Complaints With HUD Over Lenders’ Unfair & Discriminatory Policies
WASHINGTON, DC — The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) today called on federal agencies and banking regulators to investigate the nation’s largest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) approved lenders for possible violations of federal housing rules by refusing to offer loans to qualified Americans to the FHA policy of a minimum credit score of 580 and above with a 3.5% downpayment.
A recent NCRC investigation found that the majority of top FHA lenders failed to offer applications for federal-guaranteed loans to potentially qualified borrowers with credit scores below 620 or 640, even though FHA guarantees loans with credit scores to 580. These lenders have policies that establish “credit overlays” above the FHA policy, with minimum credit score requirements as high as 640. One-third of all Americans have credit scores under 620.
“Critical to our nation’s economic progress is the ability of homeowners to get quality refinancing, and for homebuyers to reclaim vacant houses by accessing quality mortgage credit, ” said John Taylor, president & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.
“The decision by some banks to not follow the FHA’s policy is cutting qualified borrowers off from accessing credit, and in doing so, causing harm to their ability to prosper, build wealth and for our economy to grow. And this decision is arbitrary, because the loans are 100% guaranteed, whether the borrower’s credit score is 580 or 780. That means the loans with lower credit scores don’t pose additional risk to the company, so there’s no legitimate business defense for this across-the-board practice. A lender is only at risk if they fraudulently or improperly originated the loan, against FHA’s underwriting criteria. As is the case across the secondary market, in that situation, the lender can be forced to buy back the bad loan,” said Taylor.
NCRC Calls For Federal Investigation Into Lenders’ Read More »
An investigation by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) discovered that a majority of the top 50 FHA lenders have instituted policies that limit access to credit to working families in low- and moderate-income communities, and in communities of color, the very same communities that have been most harmed by the greed and malfeasance of
NCRC Files “Landmark” Fair Housing Complaints Read More »
Impact from Foreclosure Crisis Expanding, Churches Feeling the Pain As Thanksgiving Comes Washington, DC – Dozens of faith leaders today joined Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., in calling for congressional action to address the foreclosure crisis and to strengthen and enforce the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), in order to stabilize communities nationwide that have been
Organization Praises Web Portal as Complete Solution for Submitting Loan Modification Applications (WASHINGTON, DC) – HOPE LoanPort™ announced today that the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), an association of more than 600 community-based organizations, is endorsing its web-based loan modification portal. Both the NCRC and many of its members are already using the groundbreaking new
NCRC Partners with HOPE LoanPort™ to Assist Homeowners Read More »
NCRC Urges Fed To Stimulate Economy By Demanding Principal Reductions On Its Loans Worth $1.1 Trillion Taylor Says Federal Government Has Power, Authority to Obtain Reductions on Majority of Mortgage Market Washington, DC – In its efforts to stimulate the economy, the Federal Reserve should demand that banks reduce the principal balances on $1.1 trillion
NCRC Urges Fed To Stimulate Economy By Demanding Principal Reductions Read More »
Washington, DC — John Taylor, president & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, issued this statement today in response to the Administration’s probe of mortgage servicers: “It was heartening to hear that the Obama Administration is investigating whether servicers are doing all they can to help homeowners avoid foreclosures, but their probe must include the abusive lending practices that led to the financial chaos that shattered our economy. The Administration should move quickly on the question of whether banks are doing what they must do and should do under housing laws to help borrowers because stemming foreclosures is key to ending the economic downturn. Foreclosures are the bane of our economic recovery, and we fail to see how a temporary national freeze will hurt the economy more than the foreclosures do. Nobody wants to freeze foreclosures on abandoned homes. And a foreclosure freeze gives us all the chance to counsel homeowners, work with lenders and servicers to fix the servicing pipeline, and keep responsible homeowners in their homes.
Federal Housing Probe On Target But Should Examine Loan Modifications Read More »
NCRC released its latest report: “Rebuilding Communities in Economic Distress: Local Strategies to Sustain Homeownership, Reclaim Vacant Properties, and Promote Community-Based Employment.” This report will be of interest to local community, housing and economic development entities and their stakeholders, as well as to policy makers at every level looking to replicate best practices in community
Rebuilding Communities in Economic Distress (REO Report) Read More »
“There are, in fact, valid foreclosures that probably should go forward,” said David Axelrod, an adviser to the president.
While senior Congressional Democrats join the calls for a national moratorium on foreclosures, the White House once again is arguing against punishing the industry, just as it did in 2009 amid the outcry over the unbreakable habit of paying large bonuses.
“Irresponsible banks need to be held accountable, but if we have not found a problem with a bank’s process we do not believe that we should impose a moratorium where that can hurt the market and hurt individual buyers,” said Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The administration’s basic logic has not changed since it took office in the depths of the financial crisis: Hitting the financial industry, officials argue in private and in public, hurts the broader economy. A moratorium on foreclosures may provide short-term political satisfaction in an overheated election climate, but the administration fears it will only delay the inevitable and necessary process of forcing many Americans out of homes they cannot afford.
A Foreclosure Tightrope for Democrats Read More »
Rubber stamp foreclosures continue pattern of disrespect for consumers’ rights and legal process, creating moral hazard for financial services industry
Washington, DC – In a letter to President Obama on Friday, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition joined dozens of other consumer and civil rights
groups in a call for a temporary national moratorium on foreclosures, until an investigation can be completed to determine the extent to which consumers’ rights have been violated by servicers and lenders. NCRC also called on Congress and the Administration to pursue non-voluntary measures to resolve the foreclosure crisis.
“The rights of consumers have been treated as an afterthought by the financial industry,” said John Taylor, president & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “Allowing the industry to rubber stamp foreclosures, and continue with sloppy, extralegal practices promotes a ‘moral hazard’ that encourages abusive behavior. Not intervening to investigate and ensure that consumers are adequately protected in the foreclosure process sends a message that mortgage lending and servicing continues to be the Wild West, wherein the industry is free to do what they want, without consideration for the borrower.”
“We need to end the voluntary reliance on the industry to do the right thing with respect to homeowners. Three years of following this approach on the foreclosure crisis has largely failed. Congress and the Administration should take this opportunity to finally put in place something that puts an end to unnecessary foreclosures, rather than delaying them,” said Taylor.
NCRC Supports Temporary National Moratorium on Foreclosures Read More »
NCRC Mission Statement NCRC and its grassroots member organizations create opportunities for people to build wealth. We work with community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business development. For a brief summary of NCRC’s programs, please click on the image below.
President Obama Letter on HR 3808 (PDF)
President Obama on HR 3808 Read More »
NCRC represents its 600 member organizations before Congress, federal regulatory agencies and the press. NCRC routinely testifies before the U.S. Congress, and meets with the leadership of banking and lending regulatory agencies. Click here to read NCRC’s testimony and regulatory comments. In recent years, NCRC has led efforts to reform the financial system, respond to
