Reducing Racial Wealth Inequalities in Greater Boston: Building a Shared Agenda

May 31, 2017

Self-Assessment Guide to CRA (Community Investment) for Mortgage Lenders from Division of Banks

February 13, 2017

In 2007, the Division of Banks established 209 CMR 54.00 to carry out the mortgage lender community investment purposes required by M.G.L. c. 255E, § 8. Through the statute and regulation, mortgage lenders originating 50 or more HMDA reportable loans in Massachusetts are assessed on their record of meeting the credit needs of the Commonwealth, including low and moderate income neighborhoods and individuals when originating residential loans and acquiring loan portfolios within the Commonwealth.
This self-assessment guide is intended for mortgage lenders, CEOs, senior officers, CRA and compliance officers to consider as a helpful reference for CRA compliance. P lease refer to official legal citations, M.G.L. 255E § 8 and 209 CMR 54.00; for additional regulatory guidance refer to Regulatory Bulletin 1.3-105 Alternative CRA Examination Procedures.
The report can also be viewed via the Division of Banks website here.

MCBC Bulletin – Winter 2017

January 05, 2017

As we ring in 2017, MCBC is pleased to call your attention to two new reports. Check out Changing Patterns and Small Business Lendingand their Infographics below.
Don’t forget to join MCBC as a Financial Institution Partner this year. Membership comes
with great benefits (see details below)! Plus, January is the time to make sure you are signed up to offer Basic Banking for Massachusetts.
And as always we have lots of meetings coming up. If you can’t get out to a meeting, check out the Community Reinvestment Digest News tostay current and get connected from the comfort of your own desk.

2014 Mortgage Lending Trends in New England from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

May 24, 2016

The mortgage and housing market experienced important changes in 2014, including changes in home prices and interest rates, and the enactment of home mortgage regulations. In this dynamic environment, it is important to track how the mortgage market has evolved at the local level for low- and moderate-income (LMI) families and families of color. In this brief, the annual Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data have been used to analyze mortgage market trends during 2014 in the New England states. The number of mortgage loans declined sharply in 2014, primarily driven by a decrease in refinance loans. Home purchase loans remained flat from 2013 through 2014. Nonconventional loans (FHA, VA, FSA/RHS) continued to play an important role, especially among low-income and nonwhite borrowers. Close to 40 percent of home purchase loans to LMI individuals were government-backed loans, and nearly half of all home purchase loans issued to blacks and Latinos were FHA mortgages. Home purchase denial rates have been declining for Latinos since 2012 and for blacks since 2013. Despite this downward trend, blacks and Latinos continued to have much higher denial rates than whites. HMDA data does not include applicants’ debt-to-income ratios, credit scores, or loan-to-value ratios, but annual income is stated. When we used income to compare denial rates by race for all loan types, we found that the denial rate for Latinos earning $71,000 to $90,000 and blacks earning $121,000 to $150,000 was almost equivalent to the denial rates for whites earning $31,000 to $50,000.

From Community Development Issue Brief No. 2, 2016 by Jennifer Haynes and Amy Higgins

Residential Mortgage Lending for Underserved Communities: Recent Innovations

May 16, 2016

This article in ProfitWise is authored by Emily Engel, Jason Keller and Taz George of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. For more click here or read the article linked here.

The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit at Year 30: Recent Investment Performance (2013-2014)

April 27, 2016

A CohnReznick LLP Report
Tax Credit Investment Services
DECEMBER 2015
This is the fourth in a series of periodic reports issued by CohnReznick LLP that address the
performance of properties financed with federal low-income housing tax credits (housing
tax credits) and the investment funds organized to acquire interests in such properties.
More info here.

The Color of Entrepreneurship by Algernon Austin

April 01, 2016

Report on Financial Literacy in Massachusetts

December 01, 2015

Report of the statewide Financial Literacy Task Force through the Massachusetts Office of Economic Empowerment, a Division of the Office of the State Treasurer.

MCBC Basic Banking Survey Results 2012

September 01, 2012

Expanding Fair Access to Credit

June 01, 2008

A Resource Guide for Massachusetts Lenders on Second Look Policies, Mortgage Broker Oversight, and Self-Testing

Working Together to Build Wealth in Lower-Income Communities

March 01, 2008

Strategies for Financial Institutions, Community-Based Organizations and Public Programs to Expand Access to Financial Services, Financial Education and Asset Development

Massachusetts Fair Lending Task Force: Report and Recommendations

October 01, 2006

The Massachusetts Fair Lending Task Force was established in 2005 to promote and ensure fair and equitable mortgage lending to all individuals. The Task Force included representatives from the Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA), the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC), the Massachusetts Credit Union League (MCUL), the Massachusetts Mortgage Association (MMA), the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association (MMBA), state and federal regulatory agencies and community-based organizations.1

Helping the Unbanked and Underbanked: Toolbox Report for Financial Institutions

September 01, 2005

This report was produced by the Boston Alliance for Economic Inclusion (BAEI), a public-private partnership whose Mission is to enhance the economic well-being of the unbanked/underserved in metropolitan Boston by improving their access to the U.S. banking system, developing and marketing more responsive and affordable financial products and services, promoting financial education, and addressing technical or regulatory issues surrounding these developments.

A Progress Report II: Initiatives by Massachusetts Bankers and Neighborhood Leaders to Meet Community Credit Needs, 1990-2000

December 30, 2000

A Progress Report: Initiatives by Massachusetts Bankers and Neighborhood Leaders to Meet Community Credit Needs, 1990-1995

December 30, 1995