Q&A: The Aspen Institute’s John Molinaro says wealth building can have a big impact on small communities

John Molinaro, codirector of the Community Strategies Group for international leadership organization the Aspen Institute in Washington, spoke to Banking and Community Perspectives about his perceptions of rural asset building from a national perspective.Rural development ; Community development

Homeownership and affordable lending: a case study

Homeownership doesn't just provide people a place to live. It also enables them to accumulate wealth by saving more and building equity in their homes.Home ownership ; Mortgage loans ; Public policy ; Mortgage-backed securities ; Subprime mortgage

Q & A with Paul A. Jargowsky

An associate professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, Jargowsky directs the Bruton Center for Development Studies, which researches urban and regional development policies and trends, and the Texas Schools Project, which studies educational issues. His research interests center on the geographic concentration of poverty and residential segregation by race and class.Poverty ; Community development

Retooling affordable housing strategies: case studies of local finance options

Some local communities are discovering that affordable housing and community development programs can flourish even with reduced federal backing.Housing - Prices ; Community development

Banks building markets by building communities

Banks, their customers and the local community share the long-term benefits of meaningful community investments.Community development ; Community banks ; Education - Economic aspects ; Technology - Economic aspects ; Medical care

The CRA and subprime lending

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has been under much scrutiny amid the subprime lending bust. Critics of the CRA contend that the law pushed banking institutions to undertake high-risk mortgage lending. A Federal Reserve Board staff analysis finds that the CRA was neither a source nor driver of the housing market's collapse. In this issue, we examine the CRA and its role in the mortgage market and distinguish it from causes of the subprime failure.Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 ; Subprime mortgage ; Subprime market

Asset building taking root in rural communities

Postrecession, the asset-building movement continues to gain momentum across the country. Individuals and families pursue wealth-building strategies based on such time-honored principles as budget to save, save to invest, credit building, controlling debt and protecting wealth once it has been accumulated.Rural development ; Saving and investment ; Credit counseling

Preserving homeownership: addressing foreclosure

The conference "Preserving Homeownership: Addressing the Foreclosure Issue, “held in Dallas in June, opened with a panel of Texas researchers who addressed the impact foreclosures are having on the U.S. and Texas economies.Foreclosure ; Home ownership ; Mortgage loans ; Subprime mortgage

Financial access options for the underserved

This issue of Banking and Community Perspectives explores the features and limitations of two of the existing products and services for the financially underserved--prepaid cards and small-dollar loans.Unbanked ; Financial services industry ; Credit scoring systems

Quantifying the foreclosure issue

Chart shows seriously delinquent loans by loan category in Texas, 2001-2007. ; Seven Texas metropolitan statistical areas ranked in the Top 100 MSAs with the highest foreclosure rate relative to the total number of households in the MSA. ; Twenty-two Texas ZIP codes made the list of 500 U.S. ZIP codes with the most foreclosure filings for the three months ended June 15, 2007.Foreclosure ; Mortgage loans