In the News

DS News, January 28, 2022, HUD names four to Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has appointed four new members to its Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee. The four new members complement the Committee’s existing eight members, bringing Committee membership back to the full 12 members authorized […]

Apartment Therapy, January 29, 2022, This new initiative is aiming to create 3 million new Black homeowners In 2019, there were about 6.45 million Black homeowners in the United States. This put the Black homeownership rate at 42%, as low as it was in 1970. Meanwhile, the rate of white homeownership increased to 73%, according

The Charlotte Observer, February 1, 2022, Truist shutting five more branches in the Charlotte area. Is your location closing? The shift to digital banking, accelerated by the pandemic, has led many banks to reevaluate their brick-and-mortar presence. “There’s not really a sense of when banks are going to stop closing branches,” said Jason Richardson, director

Spectrum News 13, January 30, 2022, Many veterans struggle to buy homes amid stigma, misunderstandings about VA loan program As many realtors and mortgage brokers tell Spectrum News, a widespread misunderstanding about the VA loan program among sellers and agents often makes it challenging for veterans to buy homes with the loan. That’s if they

National Mortgage News, January 31, 2022, (Opinion) Analyzing FHFA’s affordable multifamily housing goals FHFA published proposed goals for each year, 2022 to 2024, in the Federal Register on August 25, 2021, with comments due by October 25, 2021. The proposed goals were generally considered challenging, with the notable exception of the proposed low-income areas goal

Patient Engagement Hit, February 1, 2022, CVS Health Invests $6.5M in Housing, Social Determinants of Health The funding, awarded in partnership with Boston Financial Investment Management, will go toward building a 36-unit affordable housing complex set to serve individuals currently experiencing houselessness and individuals with physical, intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, the two groups said. Importantly,

CT Insider, February 2, 2022, 59 more Connecticut bank branches closed in 2021, report shows A report by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a Washington group focused on increasing the flow of private capital into traditionally underserved communities, found that 79 bank branches closed in Connecticut between 2017 and 2020. It represented a 6.95 percent

Westword, January 19, 2022, Small Business Spotlight: Conscious Real Estate Combines Selling Houses With Philanthropy Denver’s real estate market is not just hot, it’s ablaze. But sizzling real estate markets often result in scorched neighborhoods from gentrification. In a 2020 report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Denver ranks as the second-most-gentrified city in the nation, just

Fingerlakes1.com, January 19, 2022, Low to moderate income families, people of color excluded from mortgage market The mortgage industry has been in overdrive since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, but low- to moderate-income families and people of color have not benefited from the plummeting interest rates overall. The explosion of refinance lending reinforced historical

Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, January 3, 2022, After 20 years, Richard Rattner will relocate William Penn Tavern to Lawrenceville Richard Rattner spends his mornings at William Penn Tavern. Other than the occasional delivery person, he’s often the only one at the bar. Well before Rattner opened the tavern in Shadyside 20 years ago, he was active

The Center for Public Integrity, January 18, 2022, Home lending remains unequal The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, tapping federal data, found that Black and Latino borrowers were still receiving loans to purchase homes in 2020 at lower rates than white borrowers. And the boom in refinancing touched off by falling mortgage rates in 2020 disproportionately benefited homeowners

Washington Credit Union Daily, January 10, 2022, Consumer Groups To CFPB: Issue Tough Small Business Lending Rule A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule to require financial institutions to report data on their lending to minority-owned and women-owned businesses should include as many banks and credit unions as possible, with the information easily accessible to the

WishTV, January 19, 2022, Study links redlining to heart health problems in Black communities There’s a link between historic redlining and heart health in Black communities, according to a newly released study. Mental health experts say redlining has roots in racism, and the impact of systemic racism creates stressors. That stress can often trickle down generation

PR Newswire, January 20, 2022, M&T Bank Corporation Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Results In October 2021 M&T announced its Community Growth Plan, to provide $43 billion in loans, investments, and other financial support to create greater economic opportunity for low-to-moderate income families and neighborhoods, as well as people and communities of color. The bank’s five-year Community Growth Plan

Next City, January 20, 2022, Housing in Brief: Mayors Say They Don’t Have Tools to Deal With Homelessness A survey of 126 mayors in 39 states found that mayors felt reducing homelessness was outside of their control, that most did not have a metric for success, and that a third of those interviewed were using