Recent News
The CFPB has announced that David Reiling, CEO of Minneapolis-based Sunrise Banks, and Monica Thomas, Executive Vice President of Illinois Service Federal Savings and Loan Association in Chicago, Ill. will join the CFPB’s new Community Bank Advisory Council. The Dodd-Frank Act charges the CFPB with establishing the Consumer Advisory Board to advise and consult with the Bureau’s Director on consumer protection, financial services, community development, fair lending and civil rights. “These new members of our... Read more
San Francisco-based Lending Club Corp. has filed for an initial public offering. The online peer-to-peer lender is yet to determine the number of shares and price range, but expects its initial fundraising target to be $500 million. It said it may use a portion of the IPO proceeds to repay a term loan it used to fund an acquisition earlier this year. Other web-based lenders are expected to follow in Lending Club's footsteps. OnDeck Capital Inc., an online lender to small business, is preparing to file for an IPO that could value the business at roughly $1.5 billion. Executives from Kabbage... Read more
A new study by the Russell Sage Foundation finds that household net worth declined steadily between 2007 and 2013. Households in the lowest income quartile were hardest hit, losing 60% of their wealth. The culprit, advocates say, has been slow mortgage lending to low income and minority borrowers. Twenty-five percent of Americans' wealth comes from the increased value of homes and nearly 50% for people of color. But since 2007, one-quarter of all Latino and African-American... Read more
Proposed requirements on private mortgage insurers under consideration by the Federal Housing Finance Agency would protect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from another financial crisis, but could end up raising mortgage costs for thousands of borrowers according to a new report from Moody's Analytics and the Urban Institute. The report authors say that the new rules would lead borrowers to pay an extra 0.15 percentage point in mortgage insurance premiums. Borrowers with low credit scores who make... Read more
The CDFI Fund awarded 185 organizations more than $195.4 million in the FY 2014 round of the CDFI and NACA Programs. The award announcement included more than $160.8 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards to 152 organizations through the CDFI Program, and more than $12.2 million to 33 organizations through the NACA Program. Twelve awardees received $22.4 million in Healthy Food Financing Initiative awards. Eight CDBA members were among the awardees, including BankPlus ($1,750,000), Beneficial State Bank ($1,500,000), Carver... Read more
Bronx-based Spring Bank is launching “Borrow and Save,” a credit building product designed to help borrowers bridge income gaps without resorting to payday loans. "Borrow and Save" is a 6 to 12 month loan of up to $1,500 with no minimum credit score requirement. The loan is underwritten on the basis of an individual’s demonstrated ability to cover payments. One quarter of the loan is placed in a free savings account that is available when the loan is repaid. The goal is to help borrowers break the cycle of unsustainable borrowing, improve their credit scores and move... Read more
In a video interview with Forbes Magazine, Beneficial State Bank CEO Kat Taylor discussed the bank's new social impact metrics, its rebranding from OnePacific Coast Bank and the power of community development banking. "If you think about any of the practices in the world that we need to change, they're all enabled and amplified by finance," Taylor said. "Finance -- and the banking system in particular -- is what amplifies the whole money supply and facilitates commerce. It's what allows growth and when we get it right, it's very very good and when we get it wrong it's very... Read more
Consumers are banking less often on desktop computers as an increasing number of people turn to mobile phones, ATMs and even branches to handle their finances, a survey released by the American Bankers Association's finds. The Internet led the pack in the poll, with 31 percent of depositors saying that handling transactions on a laptop or personal computer is their most commonly used method. But that's down from 39 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, mobile banking, branches and ATMs all showed gains. Branches and... Read more
Alternative lenders that can turn around a deal within a couple of days or offer loans that last just a few months could disrupt lending – but critics warn their flexibility and speed come at a price. Annual percentage rates on the loans can soar above 100 percent, and there can be steep fees and penalties for things like prepayment. Some lenders have even been accused of hiding APRs from borrowers. "125 percent APR for a loan is just not OK in my book," says Mark Pinsky, president and chief executive of Opportunity Finance Network, a CDFI advocacy organization. But alternative lenders... Read more
Southern Bancorp Community Partners' new Community Champions program aims to provide up to $8,000 in home purchase or renovation assistance to teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and other local public servants. The program is one of four Southern Bancorp projects funded with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “The Community Champions program rewards those who leverage their time and talents for the good of our community by helping them make Helena their long-term home," said Brooke Gerber, Community Champions coordinator and... Read more
Despite the outcry surrounding the new Qualified Mortgage rule instituted in January, mortgage data have shown little evidence of change to the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae markets and minimal impact on the loans banks hold in portfolio. Researchers believed they would find a reduction in the number of interest-only loans, fewer loans to borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios, less small loans and reduced adjustable rate mortgage share. Instead, researchers saw each of these indicators remain relatively stable. The authors theorize that the rule’s impact was muted because... Read more
The U.S. Treasury Department has guaranteed $325 million in new bonds to help support economic development opportunities in low-income and underserved communities through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. The program is designed to help CDFIs fill a financing gap in underserved areas by providing long-term, fixed rate capital. Four institutions received the bond guarantees in the inaugural round. Clearinghouse CDFI will receive $100 million on account of a bond issued by Opportunity Finance Network; Community Development Trust, LP will receive $125 million on account of a bond issued by the... Read more
Pan American Bank has been out and about in the community, sponsoring booths at Chicago-area events. The bank sponsored a booth at Melrose Park, Illinois' Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast, the longest running religious feast in the United States. Pan American showed their support with free giveaways and fresh roses which were distributed to the participants of the procession on Sunday. Pan American also sponsored a booth at the 4th Annual 5k Safe Run to End Homelessness, an event organized by A Safe Haven, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless achieve self-... Read more
Southern Bancorp has agreed to acquire the Bank of Bolivar County, which operates two branches in the Mississippi communities of Shelby and Mound Bayou. “Across the country, we’re seeing a trend of small, rural community banks closing their doors due to increased regulatory costs and declining profit margins,” said Southern Bancorp, Inc. CEO Darrin Williams. “And larger banks are usually unwilling to purchase them... Southern, however, is different. Our mission is to focus on rural, distressed markets, because we understand that without access to responsive and responsible... Read more
Amazon's launch of its new mobile card reader, Amazon Local Register, presents direct competition to mobile card processor Square as well as banks that offer their own mobile card readers, such as PNC, BBVA and Bank of America. The new Amazon reader has a low introductory swipe fee of 1.75% that will last through the end of 2015. After that period, the rate will bump up to 2.5% -- still below Square's 2.75%. Amazon is able to keep its pricing so low because many of its customers have pre-registered their bank account numbers for ACH transactions, which are less expensive than credit cards... Read more
JPMorgan is joining a growing class of Detroit business leaders funding revitalization efforts in the city. The bank has pledged a total of $100 million: $25 million to renovate of abandoned homes, $12.5 million to train residents for better jobs and $12.5 million to grow small businesses and improve city infrastructure. The biggest piece, $50 million, will go to a pair of community lending groups, Capital Impact partners and Invest Detroit, to support the redevelopment of a ring of neighborhoods teetering between stagnant distress and burgeoning revitalization. The hope is that JPMorgan's... Read more
Ongoing protests around the death of Michael Brown have called attention to rising poverty and shifting demographics in suburbs like Ferguson, Mo. Ferguson went from 85 percent white in 1980 to 67 percent black by 2012. The city’s poverty rate doubled between 2000 and 2012, resulting in one in four residents living below the federal poverty line. The changes in Ferguson are representative of the growth of suburban poverty nationwide. Within the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, the number of suburban neighborhoods where more than 20 percent of residents live in poverty more than doubled... Read more
Research by the New York Fed gives new details on the growth of subprime auto lending. Since the market hit bottom in Q4 2009, balances have risen for the auto loan industry as a whole. But the growth has been most pronounced among the riskier borrowers, who also experienced the most severe contraction during the crisis. The dollar value of originations to people with credit scores below 660 has roughly doubled since 2009, while originations for the other credit score groups increased by only about half, owing primarily to an increase in the average size of the loans. The bulk of the... Read more
The recovery in housing is fueling a niche market for newly minted bonds backed by mortgages on homes on the verge of foreclosure. The investors making money off the bonds include American mutual funds attracted by yields of about 4 percent and quick pay outs. The yields look enticing compared with the current 2.42 percent yield on a 10-year Treasury note. The catalyst for the emergence of the market was a decision by HUD to begin selling some of the most severely delinquent mortgages guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration to avoid losses to taxpayers. Since 2010, HUD has sold... Read more
James Sills, Secretary of the Department of Technology for the state of Delaware, has been appointed the new CEO of historic Durham, N.C.-based Mechanics & Farmers Bank. “I think it’s important to embrace the history and tout the founders and tout what the banks mean to the community,” Sills said. But the bank is also looking ahead. This week, the bank started transitioning to a new tech platform, Fiserv. Sills also plans to initiate a complete overhaul of the M&F website and introduce a new mobile app. Kim Saunders, former CEO and current CEO of the bank’s holding company, M&F... Read more