Community Development Working Papers

The current scale of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures—particularly in the subprime market—has sparked a renewed debate over the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the regulations governing home mortgage lending.

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program was created by Congress in December 2000, at the end of the Clinton administration. When initially passed, the program was to provide a total of $15 billion in tax credits between 2001 and 2007 to subsidize investments in businesses and real estate developments serving low-income communities.

The financial services landscape of low-income communities is often dominated by “fringe” financial services, including check cashers, payday lenders and pawn shops. However, mainstream financial institutions are increasingly learning that there are “emerging markets” in low-income neighborhoods, and that opening a bank branch in an underserved area can translate into profitable business, not just Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) credit.

The CDFI Fund has used the CIIS database to collect organization, financial, and impact data annually from award recipients. This article discusses all aspects of CIIS with a particular focus on the transaction level data as a unique and long-awaited data set for the investors and researchers interested in the community development industry. The views […]

In a speech given at the Greenlining Institute’s Thirteenth Annual Economic Development Summit, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speaks to the need for data at the local level to uncover new investment opportunities, provide transparency and promote good governance and sound public policies, and promote independent policy research. The views expressed in this […]

There is a lack of information exchange between community development lenders and capital investors that limits the growth of a secondary market for community development assets. This obstacle limits the ability of community development lenders to tap into the virtually endless capital resources of the secondary market, thereby limiting the valuable services these organizations provide to underserved communities.

Data about inner-city companies and economies can be leveraged to shine light on investment opportunities in the inner city, potentially benefitting the market and helping investors identify promising firms that could use capital and technical assistance. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of […]

Highlights from the Federal Reserve’s Conference on the Secondary Market for Community Development Loans, held in Washington, DC on September 6-7, 2006. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or the Federal Reserve System.

Keynote remarks for the Federal Reserve’s Conference on the Secondary Market for Community Development Loans, held in Washington, DC on September 6-7, 2006. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or the Federal Reserve System.

The relatively low rate of mortgage default and foreclosure in California in recent years obscures the fact that many Californians have high-cost home loans that they cannot afford. High cost loans are particularly common in low-income and minority communities, suggesting that those who can least afford it are paying the most for credit.