The relationship between Hispanic residential location and homeownership

This article asks two basic questions. First, is homeownership more or less likely for Hispanics who choose to reside in an ethnic location; and second, is the location decision jointly or endogenously made with the homeownership decision? The findings suggest that, indeed, the location and homeownership decisions are jointly made. Furthermore, the decision to reside in a Hispanic enclave has a positive, significant influence on the likelihood of owning a home.Home ownership ; Hispanic Americans - Population

Prepaid cards: an important innovation in financial services

This paper describes the characteristics of closed-system and open-system prepaid cards. Of particular interest is a class of open-system programs that offer a set of features similar to conventional deposit accounts using card-based payment applications. The benefits that open-system prepaid cards offer for consumers, providers, and issuing banks contribute to the increased adoption of these payment applications. Using these cards, consumers can pay bills, make purchases, and get cash from ATM networks. At the same time, consumers who hold prepaid cards need not secure a traditional banking relationship nor gain approval for a deposit account or revolving credit. By offering prepaid cards, issuing banks may meet the financial needs of consumers who may not otherwise qualify for more traditional banking products and these banks may do so with a card-based electronic payment application that essentially eliminates credit risk for the bank.Payment systems

How effective were the financial safety nets in the aftermath of Katrina?

This paper describes the U.S. financial system’s response to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina and examines how financial safety nets helped meet consumers’ needs in the aftermath of the storm. Overall, we find that consumers who hold deposit accounts at financial institutions are less vulnerable to financial disruptions than individuals who do not have either a checking or a savings account (the unbanked). The federal banking regulators’ and financial institutions’ responses to Hurricane Katrina, the financial vulnerability of unbanked families to this unexpected catastrophic event, and how the American Red Cross, FEMA, and the Gulf States’ relief efforts supplied financial assistance to Katrina’s victims are also addressed. Finally, we present several strategies that can be pursued to further safeguard the U.S. population and the financial community against extraordinary events.Hurricane Katrina, 2005 ; Unbanked

Tenure choice with location selection: the case of Hispanic neighborhoods in Chicago

A notable feature of immigration into the U.S. is the high degree of spatial concentration of different immigrant groups. We ask the question whether residing in areas with a large proportion of a co-ethnic group influence the decision to own a home for Hispanics in the Chicago Metropolitan area. The results show that Hispanics choose to live in Hispanic enclaves based on relatively homogeneous characteristics such as recent migration, less English language fluency, and lower income. More years in the U.S., higher education attainment and English language fluency remain strong predictors of homeownership. Individuals are less likely to be homeowners in communities with a larger co-ethnic concentration, foreign-born residents, or lower-incomeImmigrants ; Income ; Mortgage loans

Immigrant financial market participation: defining the research questions

Immigrants ; Population

The importance of check-cashing businesses to the unbanked: racial/ethnic differences

The roughly 9.5 percent of all U.S. families that are without some type of transaction account (unbanked) are disproportionately represented by minorities. The unbanked often must rely on alternative ways to carry out basic financial transactions such as cashing payroll checks and paying bills. This study analyzes unique survey data and finds that a consumer's decision to patronize check-cashing businesses is jointly made with the decision to be unbanked. For the unbanked, these businesses are an important source for financial services. Attributes that contribute to these decisions, however, vary for each racial/ethnic group. Latent preference effects are also observed to influence this joint decision for Blacks and Hispanics. These findings may explain in part why the provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) of 1996 have not been more successful in bringing unbanked federal benefits recipients into the financial mainstream. ; Consumer participation in mainstream financial markets can improve their ability to build assets and create wealth, protect them from theft and discriminatory, predatory or unsavory lending practices, and may promote economic stability and vitality in the communities where they reside. By more fully understanding a consumer's financial decisions, policies can be better directed to improve the effectiveness of legislation such as the DCIA of 1996 in encouraging mainstream financial market participation.Nonbank financial institutions ; Debt management ; Checks

Small business finance in two Chicago minority neighborhoods

The authors use survey data to measure the use of formal and informal sources of financing by owners of small businesses in two ethnic neighborhoods. The authors find substantial differences across ethnic groups in the amount of start-up funding obtained and in the use of trade credit.Small business ; Chicago (Ill.)