CRA 2.0: communities 2.0

Community Reinvestment Act of 1977

Stability and Boundedness of Solutions to Some Non-autonomous Multidimensional Nonlinear Systems

Assessment of degree of boundedness and stability of multidimensional nonlinear systems with time-dependent and especially nonperiodic coefficients is an important applied problem which has no adequate resolution yet. Most of the known techniques mostly provide computationally intensive and conservative stability criteria in this area which frequently fail to gage the degrees of stability and especially boundedness of solutions to the corresponding systems. Recently, we outline a new approach to this task resting on analysis of solutions to a scalar auxiliary equation bounding from above time-histories of the norms of solutions to the original systems. This paper develops a new technique casting the auxiliary equation in a simplified form which, in turn, amplifies its application domain and reduces the computational hamper of our prior approach. Consequently, we develop novel boundedness and stability criteria and estimated the trapping and stability regions for some multidimensional nonlinear systems with time - dependent coefficients. This let us to assess in target simulations the degree of boundedness and stability of multidimensional nonlinear and non-autonomous systems which were intractable to our prior methodolog

The economic crisis and community development finance: an industry assessment

For thirty years, the community development finance industry—banks, credit unions, loan funds, community development corporations, venture funds, microfinance institutions—has quietly provided responsible, well-designed and well priced credit to lower-income people and communities. These entities have provided this credit with the support of the federal government, through the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, the Low Income Housing and New Markets Tax Credits, the Small Business Association, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and various housing and facilities development programs. The industry has also been supported in its efforts by mainstream institutions such as banks and insurance companies, most frequently motivated by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) or by concern that CRA-like obligations would be imposed. Philanthropic foundations and supporters and state and local governments have also played their parts. The result: a community development finance industry that has survived and even prospered during recessions and political downdrafts. But the field, and the communities, businesses, and individuals it serves, are hurting now, and fearing bigger hurt. This paper examines this situation and focuses attention on what needs to be done.

Time-Series Forecast with Adaptive Feedback Controlled Predictor

Abstract This paper describes a novel approach to predicting time-series which blends techniques developed in the areas of observer design and numerical solvers for ODEs. The developed predictor is based on a novel feedback control architecture which leads to computationally efficient and a fairly accurate forecast even for volatile economic series. Application to series of various kinds shows that the developed forecaster possesses some basic properties of numerical solvers for ODE. In the same time it prediction horizon is favorably compared with a time step attaining in numerical simulations for the series with precisely known models whereas no knowledge of the series' global model is assumed in our forecast. We demonstrate that for noisy series the accuracy of prediction reduces to the level of noise to signal ratio as well as that reduction of noise by smoothing the series comparably increases the accuracy of prediction. It is also shown that the developed approach provides practically valuable forecast in application to volatile economic series