Mary’s Weekly Digest
of Community Capital News

News

Should the Government or the Market Set Mortgage Down Payments? A New Study
CreditSlips by Melissa Jacoby, Jan. 25, 2012
UNC's Center for Community Capital has posted a new analysis of 19.5 million mortgage loans originated between 2000 and 2008 finding that mandatory down payments of 10% would lock out nearly 40% of all creditworthy borrowers while a 20% down payment would exclude 60%.

Big Downpayments Could Bar Creditworthy Borrowers From Market, Study Finds
The New York Times by Ann Carrns, Jan. 24, 2012
Requiring a minimum down payment of 20 percent, or even 10 percent, on home loans would push many creditworthy borrowers into higher-cost loans or out of the mortgage market entirely, a new study says.

DeMarco: Principal Write-Downs Expensive, Benefits Uncertain
The Wall Street Journal by Alan Zibel, Jan. 23, 2012
How far should the federal government go to stabilize the housing market? Many Democrats say more should be done.

SOUND OFF: Consumers Are Hitting The CFPB With Payday Lender Complaints
Business Insider by Mandi Woodruff, Jan. 23, 2012
Ever since Richard Cordray slipped behind the wheel of the previously headless Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog's been gunning for one sector in particular: Payday lenders.

Alternative Lenders Parse the Subprime Market with Google-Like Data Analysis
American Banker Bank Technology News by John Adams, Jan. 23, 2012
Douglas Merrill is nothing if not confident. And why not? He recently raised $73 million for his alternative lending firm, ZestCash, and he holds an unshakable belief that the company can expand the consumer credit market with technology that traditional banks don't have.

Blacks Face Bias in Bankruptcy, Study Suggests
Truthout.org via The New York Times News Service by Tara Siegel Bernard, Jan. 21, 2012
Blacks are about twice as likely as whites to wind up in the more onerous and costly form of consumer bankruptcy as they try to dig out from their debts, a new study has found.

Will Fed's Paper Spur Momentum for Housing Fix?
American Banker by Donna Borak, Jan. 20, 2012
A recent paper released by Fed economists has sparked a firestorm of criticism, but it could be just what policymakers need to jumpstart a much ailing housing market.

Bank Payday Lending
Center for Responsible Lending, Jan. 18, 2012
You'd expect 400% interest loans from the corner payday lender, not the banks. Our trusted institutions should not be the biggest loansharks in town.

Reports & Papers

What are the risks and opportunities on the horizon for community banking?
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago by Mark H. Kawa and Paul Jordan, February 2012

Getting up to Speed on the Financial Crisis: A One-Weekend-Reader's Guide
National Bureau of Economic Research by Gary B. Gorton and Andrew Metrick, January 2012

A good credit score did not protect Latino and black borrowers
Economic Policy Institute by Algernon Austin, Jan. 19, 2012

The Volcker Rule and its Impact on the U. S. Economy
Brookings by Douglas J. Elliott before the House Financial Services Committee, Jan. 18, 2012

Freddie Mac Releases 28th Annual ARM Survey Results
Freddie Mac, Jan. 18, 2012

Inequality, Leverage and Crises Working Paper; and Inequality, leverage and Crises Presentation [PDF]
International Monetary Fund by Michael Kumhof and Romain Ranciere, November 2010

Do Payday Loans Trap Consumers in a Cycle of Debt?
Social Science Research Network by Marc Anthony Fusaro and Patricia J. Cirillo, Nov. 16, 2011

FHFA Analyses of Principal Forgiveness Loan Modifications [PDF]
Federal Housing Finance Agency, Jan. 20, 2012

FHFA Releases Analysis on Principal Forgiveness As Loss Mitigation Tool [PDF]
Federal Housing Finance Agency, Jan. 23, 2012

Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program - Final Impacts Evaluation
U. S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development by Lisa Sanbonmatsu, Jens Ludwig, Lawrence F. Katz, Lisa A. Gennetian, Greg J. Duncan, Ronald C. Kessler, Emma Adam, Thomas W. McDade and Stacy Tessler Lindau, October 2011

Conferences & Calls for Papers

Webinar: Why Communities of Color Should Care about Social Security Reform
Insight Center for Community Economic Development, 1 p.m. EST, Jan. 31, 2012

Community Investing: Understanding CRA and Community Development
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation, FBR of Richmond Charlotte Branch, Charlotte, N. C., Feb. 16, 2012

Disrupting the Poverty Cycle: Emerging Practices to Achieve Economic Mobility 2012
Crittenton Women's Union, Linda K. Paresky Conference Center, Simmons College, Boston, Mass., May 1, 2012

World Economic Roundtable: Inequality, Wages and Financial Crises - Summary
New America Foundation by Samuel Sherraden, Jan. 5, 2012

How Housing Matters Conference - Proceedings
National Building Museum, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Office of Policy Development and Research, U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development., Nov. 2, 2011