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Daily Archives: October 21, 2014

The Unequal Mortgage Market Is No Coincidence

Michela Zonta, Center for American Progress: “Persistent racial and ethnic inequality in the mortgage market is not a coincidence. Nearly 50 years after the adoption of the Fair Housing Act, newly released federal data indicate that people of color continued to lose ground in the homeownership market in 2013. In particular, black and Hispanic households continued to represent a shrinking fraction of the mortgage market and received higher-cost loans compared with white borrowers. Tragically, many prospective black and Hispanic homeowners never reach the loan-decision stage of the home buying process. People of color are still being treated unequally in the home mortgage market, even when they demonstrate an ability to repay their loans. Blacks and Hispanics are more than twice as likely to be denied a mortgage as non-Hispanic whites with comparable incomes and risk profiles. However, the disparate treatment received by people of color is not confined solely to the loan approval stage of the mortgage lending process and does not necessarily take the form of a loan denial. Discrimination based on race or ethnicity can take several forms during any stage of the process. During the pre-application stage, for example, lenders may discourage borrowers of color from continuing with the loan application process even though they may qualify for a loan. Lenders also may not provide the same information to applicants of color that they provide to white applicants. Further, pair testing studies—in which two individuals pose as equally qualified borrowers in every respect except their race or ethnicity and inquire about the availability and terms of home mortgage loans—demonstrate that people of color are consistently treated differently than equally qualified whites.”

IG – Lessons Learned From the Federal Reserve’s Supervision of JPMorgan Chase

The Board Should Enhance Its Supervisory Processes as a Result of Lessons Learned From the Federal Reserve’s Supervision of JPMorgan Chase & Company’s Chief Investment Office “Our report contains four findings. First, as part of its continuous monitoring activities at JPMC, FRB New York effectively identified risks related to the CIO’s trading activities and planned… Continue Reading

Enhancing Financial Stability by Improving Culture in the Financial Services Industry

William C. Dudley, President and Chief Executive Officer – Remarks at the Workshop on Reforming Culture and Behavior in the Financial Services Industry, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York City, October 20, 2014. As prepared for delivery: “As I noted earlier at the start of today’s workshop, improving culture in the financial services industry is… Continue Reading

Medicare Beneficiaries Paid Nearly Half of the Costs for Outpatient Services at Critical Access Hospitals

HHS IG Report (OEI-05-12-00085), October 7, 2014 “The Critical Access Hospital (CAH) certification was created to ensure that rural beneficiaries would have access to hospital services. Medicare reimburses CAHs at 101 percent of their “reasonable costs,” rather than at the predetermined rates set by the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). The system that Medicare uses to… Continue Reading

Government Debt Management at the Zero Lower Bound

This paper re-examines government debt management policy in light of the U.S. experience with extraordinary fiscal and monetary policies since 2008. Brookings – Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson, Joshua S. Rudolph and Lawrence H. Summers: “We first document that the Treasury’s decision to lengthen the average maturity of the debt has partially offset the Federal Reserve’s… Continue Reading

SIGAR – Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) – Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan: After a Decade of Reconstruction and Over $7 Billion in Counternarctics Efforts, Poppy Cultivation Levels Are At An All Time-High, October 2014. “As of June 30, 2014, the United States has spent approximately $7.6 billion on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan. Multiple sources of… Continue Reading

Payday Lending in America

“Pew’s Payday Lending in America series sheds light on the experience of borrowers. The research also details fundamental problems with payday loans, and suggests how policymakers can help solve these problems.” Includes the following resources: Payday Lending in America: Fraud and Abuse Online Payday Lending in America: Overview of Policy Recommendations Payday Lending in America:… Continue Reading

New GAO Report – Combatting Terrorism

Strategy to Counter Iran in the Western Hemisphere Has Gaps That State Department Should Address, GAO-14-834: Published: Sep 29, 2014. Publicly Released: Oct 21, 2014. “The activities of Iranian government elements, such as a 2011 attempt to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in the United States, could pose a threat to U.S. national security. Congress enacted the… Continue Reading

Free Public Access to Federal Materials on Guide to Law Online

[Via Emily Carr, Senior Legal Research Specialist, Library of Congress] – this posting by Ann Hemmens, legal reference librarian at the Law Library of Congress: “Through an agreement with the Library of Congress, the publisher William S. Hein & Co., Inc. has generously allowed the Law Library of Congress to offer free online access to historical U.S. legal materials… Continue Reading