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Some have suggested that housing policy, embodied by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and affordable housing goals of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), caused the subprime crisis. We examine if these programs led to worse mortgage outcomes using two approaches. The first examines whether more activity by CRA-covered lenders, or more loan sales to the GSEs, was associated with worse outcomes. The second uses regression discontinuity to determine if outcomes were worse at the geographic thresholds used by each program. Our results suggest that neither program played a significant role in the subprime crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the condition of the mortgage market in the U.S. in 2010 based on data under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 (HMDA). It highlights the findings of the reviewed data including the reduction of refinance loans, the importance of price house declines, and home-purchase lending. Several charts are also presented including the number of home lenders, home loan activity, and volume of refinance originations.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 (the FACT Act) directed several federal agencies to conduct studies related to the credit reporting industry. A primary concern was the accuracy and fairness of the credit reporting and scoring systems. In this article, Federal Reserve System Board economists report on a study in which they examined various issues related to credit scoring, including how credit scoring has affected the availability and affordability of credit. In a responding commentary, Calvin Bradford notes flaws and deficiencies in the Federal Reserve System study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on higher-priced home lending and updates on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HDMA) in the U.S. in 2005. It has been noted that the HDMA data for the year focused on loan pricing and on the substantial increase in the reported incidence of higher-priced lending. The requirements needed by the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation C for lenders on their home-purchase and home-improvement loans as well as on the refinancing of these loans are also discussed.

Discusses the new information requirements under Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and its application in fair lending enforcement in the U.S. Expansion of coverage to more nondepository lenders; Revision of the definition of application to include certain requests for pre-approvals; Compulsory collection of lien status, property code and loan pricing; Incorporation of changes to the rules on collecting and reporting information on race and ethnicity.

Highlights the results of a research relating to the proposals to revise the regulations that implement the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in the United States. Need for federally insured banking institutions to be evaluated on their records of helping to meet the credit needs of their local communities, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods; Brief description of the CRA; Large- and small-institution evaluation; Agencies' proposals to amend the CRA regulations. INSETS: The Large-Institution Evaluation;The Small-Institution Evaluation.

Reports on the role of information that credit-reporting agencies maintain on consumers' credit-related experiences in credit markets in the U.S. Effects of data limitations on consumers' access to credit; Concern among financial analysts about the accuracy, completeness, timeliness and consistency of consumer credit records; Elements of credit models used to generate credit history scores.

This paper examines how bank consolidation activity affected small business lending in local U.S. banking markets during two 3-year study periods, focusing on the role played by community banks in the process. During the 1994-1997 period, we find that consolidation activity involving big banks is associated with lower loan growth, whereas community bank consolidations and a greater presence of community banks in the market are associated with higher loan growth. During the 1997-2000 period, consolidation activity is either unrelated to small business loan growth or is associated with higher loan growth. In both study periods we find that, net of organization reclassifications due to consolidation or asset growth, the share of small business lending funded by community banks rose, particularly in markets undergoing consolidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an overview of consumer data and credit reporting in the U.S. Description of compilation and reporting practices of credit reporting companies; Information collected in credit reports; Major components of consumer credit report data.

Focuses on the special leading programs of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in the United States. Implications of the CRA programs for banking institutions; Impact of the CRA on low-income populations; Characteristics of the special lending programs; Profitability of the programs in comparison with the overall mortgage lending.

Presents a model for evaluating credit risk, credit scoring and the performance of home mortgages. Mortgage underwriting; Risk mitigation; Relation between credit history and mortgage performance. INSETS: Developing a credit history scoring system.;How to obtain your credit report and what to do to ..;The elements of an affordable home loan program.;Freddie Mac's gold measure worksheet.

Describes the Federal Reserve System's developed program designed to use Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data as a screening device for fair lending enforcement. Reasons for designing the program; Motivation behind the adoption of the program: Provisions of federal fair lending law.

In this paper the authors present evidence on household saving in the U.S. based on the panel data from the 1983 and 1986 waves of the Survey of Consumer Finances. Saving is measured in these surveys as the change in wealth over the three-year period. Using a variety of models, we are able to explain only about 7 percent of the variation in the level of saving. Demographic factors appear to be modestly useful in explaining saving. However, one her is very clear from the patterns of correlation extracted so far; either the measurement error in the data is quite large, or idiosyncratic factors are very important in explaining saving behavior, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because wealth estimates from survey data have usually fallen substantially short of independent aggregate estimates, survey data have not been seen as adequate for assessing questions dependent on a good representation of the entire distribution of wealth, such as estimates of wealth concentration. The 1983 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), which contains a supplementary sample of very high income households drawn from a tax-file sample frame, is the first U.S. survey since the 1963 Survey of Financial Characteristics of Consumers that offers hope of accurately measuring the entire wealth distribution. In this paper, we discuss the design of the survey, the critical issue of proper weighting to merge the supplementary sample with an area probability sample, and the role of imputation. We show that the use of ordinary area probability samples alone leads to probable bias in the measurement of highly concentrated assets such as stocks and bonds. We compare the SCF data with aggregates derived from the flow-of-funds accounts of the Federal Reserve Board. While methodological issues cloud exact comparisons, it appears overall that the SCF estimates are at least as credible as other aggregate measurements. Finally, we use the data to assess the change in concentration of wealth from 1963 to 1983. We estimate that the concentration of wealth in terms of households did not change significantly over this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on the paper "Cash, Paper, and Electronic Payments: A Cross-Country Analysis," by David B. Humphrey, Lawrence B. Pulley, and Jukka M. Vesala, published in the November 2, 1996 issue of "The Journal of Money, Credit and Banking." He states that the writers expand on the payments system framework to consider cross-country variation, but suggests that if countries are idiosyncratic with basic cultural factors causing differences in the payment systems rather than the countries being at different development stages, then cross-country comparisons can give misleading forecasts. He comments on differences between the U.S. and several European countries concerning noncash transactions.