262 research outputs found
Beyond Payday Loans: Consumer Installment Lending in Illinois
This report analyzes detailed, loan level data and describes the terms and conditions, borrower demographics, and default characteristics of loans made by consumer installment lenders in Illinois
Foreclosure Fallout: An Analysis of Foreclosure Auctions in the Chicago Region
This report examines the results of foreclosure auctions in the Chicago region held between 2005 and first half 2008 for regional municipalities, Chicago community areas and Chicago wards. The analysis provides the total number of properties going to auction, changes in the share of properties going to auction that become lender-owned, the auction values of these properties, and the property types of lender-owned properties in the City of Chicago
Benchmarking Branch Outcomes: Using Available Data to Analyze and Improve the Delivery of Retail Bank Services to Low-Wealth Communities
This report demonstrates that measuring how well a bank provides basic banking services to low-wealth consumers could be done using existing data. Using proprietary data collected from two bank branches located in low-wealth communities, it shows that the type of transaction level data, previously thought to be unavailable to regulators and costly to collect for financialinstitutions, is routinely collected by at least one large bank for marketing purposes
Bridging the Gap: Credit Scores and Economic Opportunity in Illinois Communities of Color
This report analyzed credit score data from a major national credit bureau in large Illinois zip codes and found significant disparities in credit characteristics between communities of color and predominantly white communities, as well as between major metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan areas. The report explains the importance of credit scores and how they are used, and recommends several policies to improve economic opportunity for people and communities impacted by low credit scores. Included is an appendix with demographics and credit score averages and distributions for large Illinois zip codes
The Illinois Payday Loan Loophole
Analysis of Circuit Court of Cook County filings by one large payday lending showing the shift from short-term loans, cover by Payday Loan Reform Act consumer protections, to longer-term installment loans not covered by the act. The report also looks at the debt collection process
The Chicago Region's Foreclosure Problem Continued to Grow in 2008
This report summarizes key foreclosure trends in the Chicago region for 2008 and updates Woodstock Institute reports and fact sheets released previously that illustrated key aspects of the foreclosure crisis such as the spread of the crisis to suburban communities, the potential impact of the foreclosures on Chicago's affordable rental housing market, and the growing number of foreclosures that were becoming bank-owned properties and likely sitting vacant. The report includes detailed appendices with data for City of Chicago community areas and municipalities in the Chicago Six County Area
Building Community Assets: Growing Lower-Income Credit Union Membership through Community and Credit Union Partnerships
This report details the partnership process and lessons learned from a two-year technical assistance program designed to help community organizations partner with mainstream credit unions with the goal of enrolling new lower-income members or expanding an existing partnership. The case studies describing these partnerships identify four strategic areas through which partnerships can be strengthened and the common barriers to developing a successful partnership can be overcome
Paying More for the American Dream IV: The Decline of Prime Mortgage Lending in Communities of Color
The financial crisis has led to significantly reduced access to mortgage credit for all borrowers and communities. In neighborhoods of color, however, where the foreclosure crisis has taken an especially severe toll, access to prime, conventional mortgage loans has declined precipitously -- to a much greater degree than in predominantly white neighborhoods. Families living in neighborhoods of color disproportionately lack access to affordable loans needed to purchase or improve their homes or to refinance their mortgage to secure a lower monthly payment. As this lack of access and the ongoing foreclosure crisis wreak havoc on communities of color, neighborhood rehabilitation efforts, includingsustainable loan modifications, are desperately needed to help families avert foreclosure and stay in their homes, and to prevent further destabilization of neighborhoods.This report focuses on changes in lending patterns in seven key metropolitan areas: Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; and Rochester, NY. It examines changes in the levels of prime, conventional home purchase and refinance mortgage lending in predominantly white communities and communities of color between 2006, the beginning of the foreclosure crisis, and 2008, the most recent year for which national mortgage lending data are available.The report also examines lending patterns for the four largest bank holding companies: Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Finally, the report includes recommendations for federal policy reforms that would require financial institutions to issue credit responsibly and protect all communities, particularly communities of color, from abusive lending practices
Collaborators or Competitors? Exploring the Relationships between Community Development Financial Institutions and Conventional Lenders in Small Business Finance
This study examines the nature of the interaction of banks and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in small business lending. We examine the experience of six different CDFIs that vary by size, corporate structure, and market. We explore how they both collaborate and compete with regulated lenders, and how changes in local and national market dynamics affect their activities. Our case studies are not necessarily representative of the CDFI industry, but they offer insights on the factors that shape CDFIs' interactions with and responses to more mainstream institutions. Our findings are therefore more descriptive than prescriptive, although we offer suggestions for both CDFI practice and future research
The Pennsylvania County Fair: A Snapshot of America at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
This paper explores the controversial popularity of horse races at Pennsylvania agricultural fairs at the turn of the twentieth century. While the excitement of horse races and the gambling that surrounded them attracted large crowds to fairs, agriculturists were angered by their detraction from agricultural exhibits and moralists mortified by the gambling
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