Washington, DC — The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the nation’s preeminent advocacy group for fair lending and housing, commends President Obama’s call to resuscitate the housing market expected in his annual State of the Union speech. John Taylor, NCRC President and CEO, said: “The weakness of the market since the 2008 crash continues to […]
State of the Union: As Homeowners Go, So Goes the Economy Read More »
Obama Appoints Protector of the Taxpayer Interest Washington, DC — President Obama will today use his constitutional authority to recess appoint former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In 2010, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) gave Cordray its Henry B. Gonzalez Award for outstanding public service, noting that
NCRC Supports Appointment of Richard Cordray to Head the CFPB Read More »
Senate Blocks Qualified Nominee Washington, DC — The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) today issued the following statement after the Senate failed to secure cloture on the nomination of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. NCRC President & CEO John Taylor: “Shame on those Senators who have blocked Richard Cordray’s nomination. The
Senators Vote for Wall Street, Against the American People Read More »
Washington, DC — The National Community Reinvestment Coalition today urged the Senate to confirm former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In 2010, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) gave Cordray its prestigious Henry B. Gonzalez Award for outstanding public service, noting that he was a “shining
NCRC Calls on Senate to Confirm Richard Cordray to Head the CFPB Read More »
Washington, DC — In a letter sent to Chairman Hal Rogers and three other members of the House Appropriations committee, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition opposed extending higher loan limits on FHA loans. The House of Representatives is currently considering raising the loan limits from $625,500 back to $729,750. A recent Congressional Budget Office report
NCRC Opposes Higher Limits on FHA Loans Read More »
Washington, DC — President Obama is expected today to nominate the former Ohio state Attorney General Richard Cordray as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In 2010, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) gave Cordray its prestigious Henry B. Gonzalez Award for outstanding public service, noting that he was a “shining example for state
NCRC Supports Richard Cordray to Head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Read More »
Read letter: Opposing Moran (#391) To Gut CFPB and DeMint (#394) To Repeal Dodd-Frank Act by Americans for Financial Reform
NCRC Opposes Congressional Attempt to Weaken Consumer Protections Read More »
An Axe to the Heart of Consumer Protection: Politics As Usual Threaten to Undermine Meaningful Consumer Protection Consumer Groups Call on Congress to Cease Efforts Aimed to Undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Washington, DC – As the House Financial Services Committee prepares to meet this Thursday to vote on newly introduced bills aimed to
Politics Threaten to Undermine Meaningful Consumer Protection Read More »
As Expected, Effort Underway To Weaken Consumer Financial Protection Bureau NCRC’s John Taylor Says Financial Lobby Strangling Reform Washington, DC – John Taylor, CEO and President of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, released this statement today about the markup of legislation by the House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. Two bills
NCRC Opposes Weakening the CFPB Read More »
Analysis of the Obama Administration’s Housing Finance Proposals (1.45mb)
Analysis of Administration’s GSE Proposals Read More »
NCRC commented on the recent Bloomberg by Carter Dougherty. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-20/fed-abandons-plan-to-curb-borrower-rights-to-rescind-mortgages.html
FED Abandons Plan to Curb Borrower Rights 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 »
Washington, DC–On Friday, September 24th, NCRC will testify before Federal Reserve Board on making critical improvements to HMDA data, so that lenders can be held accountable for the types of loans they are issuing to communities.
“We are in an era of some of the most complicated mortgage products to-date and given the strain that bad mortgage loans have put on our economy, lenders should be examined with a microscope now more than ever. In the era of reckless and corrupt lending, it is crucial that HMDA actually does what it was enacted to do, which is identify discriminatory lending patterns and determine if financial institutions are meeting local housing needs,” said John Taylor, president and CEO of NCRC, in reaction to the Federal Reserve’s 2009 HMDA data report.
The recently enacted Dodd-Frank bill mandates significant improvements to HMDA data. NCRC calls upon the Federal Reserve Board and the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to expeditiously implement these improvements. In today’s release, the Federal Reserve Board states that the current HMDA data lacks information on credit scores, property values, and other factors necessary to fully account for disparities in racial access to affordable loans.
Improving HMDA Data can be the Answer to Averting another Foreclosure Epidemic Read More »
Washington, DC – Reacting to news that the House has passed the Wall Street reform bill this evening, John Taylor, president & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), made this statement regarding its passage:
“NCRC is very pleased to see some major steps taken to overhaul the banking system. The bill offers necessary consumer protections that would not have been passed without President Obama’s leadership. The Senate needs to act quickly to send this legislation to the President’s desk. While it’s been distressing to see the outsize influence that the Wall Street banks have on Congress, it’s time now to get this done, and to move forward with other necessary measures to clean up the mess caused by the reckless and irresponsible behavior of Wall Street.”
“The creation of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) as an independent agency that will be able to create and enforce rules of the road will protect consumers from future abuses. It is critical however that this independence not be undermined by the fact that the Federal Reserve Bank will house, pay for and be part of the oversight agency that has the authority to veto decisions of the CFPB. Only time will tell as to how much influence the banking regulators and others have over this new important agency. We will be paying close attention to the implementation of the agency, to ensure it is set up in a way that maximizes its ability to protect consumers.”
Wall Street Reform Passes the House Read More »
Senate bill weaker on consumer protections than House bill will need to get strengthened in conference committee
Washington, DC– Today, the United States Senate passed a financial reform bill . A last minute managers amendment from Senator Dodd has not been made public yet, but based on the details of the bill known earlier today, John Taylor, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), made the following statement:
The Senate has today passed a promising financial reform bill: necessary financial reforms will become law. But this legislative victory came at a great cost. More than 8 million Americans lost their livelihood, and millions are losing their homes. Families and whole neighborhoods have been torn apart. Unfortunately, this is more than lost decade for many Americans; this has been the destruction of the American Dream.
Wall Street Reform Passes Senate Read More »
