On Our Radar

The Charlotte Observer, April 4, 2022, Fannie Mae picks Charlotte for new program expanding housing access Charlotte is one of three cities chosen by Fannie Mae for a new program to increase voucher acceptance in rental housing, the government-backed mortgage institution announced Monday. Fannie Mae will offer lower loan financing costs to owners of apartment buildings if […]

Washington Examiner, April 3, 2022, Banks brace for CFPB to take aim at credit card late fees Banks expect the federal government to crack down on credit card late fees following a highly critical report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlighting the effects of the penalties on households. The report, published this past week, emphasized that the $12 billion in

Business Insider, March 30, 2022, A student-loan company just got hit with a $1 million penalty for ‘breaking the law’ by lying to borrowers about loan forgiveness, Biden’s top consumer watchdog says On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sanctioned Edfinancial Services for “making deceptive statements to student loan borrowers and misrepresenting their forgiveness and repayment

American Banker, March 29, 2022, How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google are infiltrating financial services “One of the biggest fears of banking executives is that the four large tech titans — Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google — will move into banking and come after their clients,” wrote Alyson Clarke, a principal analyst at Forrester, in a

The Washington Post, March 31, 2022, Corporate landlords are gobbling up U.S. suburbs. These homeowners are fighting back. The rise of investor purchases has spawned complaints that the companies, flush with Wall Street money, are pricing out first-time home buyers and renting to tenants who have not been properly screened. In Potters Glen, one house

The Regulatory Review, March 28, 2022, How ending forced arbitration advances economic justice The harms of forced arbitration are widely noted. Several reports indicate that 81 of the 100 largest U.S. companies use arbitration in their dealings with consumers and more than two-thirds of top selling products include a forced arbitration clause as a term

Washington Post, March 29, 2022, Biden signs bill making lynching a federal hate crime The new law amends the U.S. Code to designate lynching a hate crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. More than 4,000 people, mostly African Americans, were reported lynched in the United States from 1882 to 1968, in all

Government Technology, March 28, 2022, What is digital redlining? Experts explain the nuances Digital redlining is underinvestment by Internet companies in providing service to communities that are lower income — disproportionately communities of color — and it results in plans that have lower speeds and are often less affordable than those found in wealthier —

The Washington Post, March 23, 2022, Home values soared during the pandemic, except for these Black families Their experience is common. Homes in Black neighborhoods are valued at 23 percent less, on average, than those in comparable White neighborhoods — despite having similar neighborhood and property characteristics and amenities, according to a Brookings Institution report.

The New York Times, March 27, 2022, Investors are buying mobile home parks. Residents are paying a price. Industry leaders are blunt about the business model: According to materials for a “boot camp” for aspiring mobile-home park investors prepared by Mobile Home University, which is run by two of the largest mobile-home park owners in

American Banker, March 25, 2022, Fed watching red-hot housing market for financial stability risks “In last year’s stress test, which featured a severe global recession that included a decline in home prices of over 20%, we projected the largest banks could collectively maintain capital ratios at more than double their minimum requirements — even after

Politico, March 26, 2022, Biden to propose new tax on the uber rich President Joe Biden intends to propose a new type of wealth tax as part of his upcoming budget request, a plan that’s sure to revive the debate in Washington over taxing the richest-of-the rich. He wants to require them to pay at

Housing Wire, March 25, 2022, Here are the top 10 mortgage lenders in 2021 According to an analysis of the HMDA data by Polygon Research application HMDAVision, the top 10 lenders by volume are: Rocket Mortgage United Wholesale Mortgage Wells Fargo LoanDepot JPMorgan Chase New Residential Investment Corp. Freedom Mortgage Bank of America Homepoint Guaranteed Rate

American Banker, March 24, 2022, Appraisers facing stricter oversight from financial regulators The Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Credit Union Administration plan to devise new ways to monitor appraisal processes for racial, ethnic and sex-based biases,

Fortune, March 22, 2022, Housing boom loses steam? Home sales may drop 25% by the end of summer, says analyst While housing prices aren’t showing any signs of leveling off in the near future, one analyst says he expects total sales to drop precipitously in the coming months. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist and founder of research consulting