While many economic indicators are better than they have been in years, leading to recently published reports asserting that income inequality is not as bad as we have been told, many people are working multiple jobs just to get by.
(Download) INTRODUCTION The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has leveraged trillions of dollars of loans, investments and services for low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and communities. Since 1996, banks have made more than $1 trillion in community development loans, which finance affordable housing, economic development projects and community facilities for LMI communities. Likewise, banks have issued […]
Banks often tout the benefits of merging. The result depends on a variety of factors.
U.S. Opportunity Zones and gentrified neighborhoods NCRC has found that 69% of neighborhoods that gentrified between 2000 and 2017 are either an Opportunity Zone or they are adjacent to one. For more information on NCRC’s work on gentrification and displacement see our report here. For more information on Opportunity Zones see the following websites: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones-frequently-asked-questions […]
Bank branches matter. Countering the overwhelming messaging from many banks and even some regulators, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) has published several reports over the years that detail how much branches still matter for consumers and communities, even in 2019. Just look at the number of branches that banks opened in the last year, and it is clear that they also know the value of a physical outpost in the community they want to serve.
In 2019, the total student loan debt in America is about $1.5 trillion. According to the New York Consumer Credit Panel, adults under 40 hold 65% of the total student loan debt. Although there has been much said about this figure, the income enhancement offered by a college degree still far outweighs the cost of the debt.
A previous NCRC analysis found that, overall, a higher percentage of banks made a higher percentage of home loans to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and communities than non-banks and credit unions. However, access to home loans is only half the battle. We also need to have information on the affordability of loans to get […]
In September 2018, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) released the results of a survey of 1,200 banks on small business lending in America. It found that small business lending is threatened by the decline of smaller banks and the reduction of bank branches in many communities. But just as revealing was what the survey didn’t find. More information that would be essential for policy and regulatory decisions remains concealed, invisible to the public.
Downtown areas in many economically vibrant and changing cities across the United States are being rapidly gentrified, according to a new study by the University of Minnesota School of Law. The study, “American Neighborhood Change in the 21st Century: Gentrification and Decline,” also found that neighborhoods in the inner-ring suburbs of these same cities, built […]
Introduction As the federal bank agencies consider Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) reform, data on the patterns of lending to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers and neighborhoods will help inform needed changes. For example, if non-banks not covered by CRA were found to be making significantly higher percentages of loans to LMI borrowers or neighborhoods than […]
