Although the month of April is annually observed as Fair Housing Month, the reality for Black America and other people of color is that housing has not significantly changed since the 1968 federal enactment of the Fair Housing Act.
“All Americans deserve equitable access to affordable housing and the physical, emotional and financial security it represents,” said Lisa Rice, CEO, National Fair Housing Alliance. “JPMorgan Chase’s new commitments will help make owning or renting a reality for more Black and Latinx families, whose housing access has been impeded by decades of systemic racism and are now disproportionately affected by the impact of COVID-19. Addressing the affordability crisis, now overlaid with the pandemic, will require many players on many fronts, and these commitments are concrete, meaningful steps in the right direction.”
The non-profit research and policy organization is targeted towards the education surrounding predatory lending, a practice commonly directed towards minority communities. The virtual town hall, moderated by White House Correspondent and CNN Political Analyst April Ryan, focused primarily on the areas of small businesses, housing and student loans with a particular emphasis on minority and Black communities.
Amid the tinsel and garland celebrating the holiday season, two important federal financial regulators are planning how the future financial needs of low-and-moderate income (LMI) communities – including neighborhoods of color – will be met. In an effort to “modernize” the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) on December 12 the board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) endorsed a proposed Notice of Public Rulemaking (NPR) offered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
Every year the payday lending industry convenes in an effort to further expand and preserve the combined $8 billion-dollars in fees generated each year by consumers caught in that and car-title loans. This year, 2019, also marks the second consecutive year, that the organization representing sellers of these debt-trap loans, the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), has held its event at the Trump National Doral resort in Miami.
… headline news articles reminded the nation that housing discrimination still exists.
A decade has passed since the housing collapse. In that time, bank profits are back and continue to rise. Despite occasional trading fluctuations, the stock market remains profitable for most investors. Then there’s the low rate of unemployment that is often cited as if economic strides have included nearly everyone.
Across the country, an estimated $5.5 billion in HUD funding is awarded each year. Nearly two-thirds of these funds go to approximately 1,210 grantees through HUD’s Community Development Block (CDBG) Grant program. With this year’s rule suspension and continuing for several years, grant recipients – largely state and local government jurisdictions — can obligate their allocations without any concern for compliance with the Fair Housing Act rule.
Today, with much of the mortgage market recovered, unnecessarily tight and expensive credit in the conventional mortgage market often makes FHA the only option to finance homeownership for low- to moderate-income borrowers, lower-wealth borrowers, and borrowers of color. This single-option also means that borrowers broadly denied the lower-cost, most-affordable private loans available, have a slower rate of home appreciation due to fees and insurance that accompany government-backed loans.
As the Senate Banking Committee turns its attention to reform the nation’s secondary mortgage market, civil rights leaders recently spoke in a strong and united voice. For these national organizations, the housing finance system must embrace—not abandon—its obligation to provide broad access and affordability in mortgage lending.