Mortgage Lending

Home ownership has been the primary means for most American families to build and pass on inter-generational wealth. However, government-sanctioned racial discrimination in housing and mortgage finance markets robbed many families of this opportunity, and today’s racial homeownership gap is barely changed from the levels of more than 50 years ago. Closing the homeownership gap is essential to closing the racial wealth gap.  Additionally, predatory mortgage lending practices drained trillions in wealth from families, especially Black, Latino, low wealth and low-income Americans. CRL successfully advocated for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which has made the mortgage market far safer for consumers. CRL is building on this progress by working to ensure that all credit-worthy borrowers have access to fair, affordable, and sustainable mortgages. And that policy makers and market participants develop solutions that are appropriate to respond to the scale of this housing crisis. 

Filter Results

OCC’s Community Reinvestment Act Rule Harms Low- and Moderate-Income Communities and Communities of Color

On May 20, 2020, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) acted alone in issuing a structurally flawed final rule on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) that weakens the CRA and will harm low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities and communities of color. Rather than postpone rulemaking to focus on the devastating economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 health...

Strong Opposition to the OCC and FDIC’s Proposed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Regulations

From the full comment letter: The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and the Center for Community Self-Help (Self-Help) strongly oppose the OCC and FDIC’s proposed Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations.... The most troubling outcome of theproposed rule is that it would unwittingly sanction redlining. The proposal relies on an overly simplistic evaluation measurethat focuses on the total dollar value of...

Housing Policy Recommendations for Economic Recovery from COVID-19

Housing accounts for almost 20% of our national economy. Disruptions in the housing sector will have a ripple effect across the economy. This crisis lays bare wealth and income inequality, including the racial wealth gap, that worsened in the last crisis and the structural flaws in our economy that produce this inequality. Actions must be taken now to protect financially...

Treat Fannie and Freddie As Utilities

If Treasury and FHFA release the GSEs from conservatorship, they should continue the return-regulated approach FHFA has used effectively in conservatorship. Utility-like regulation would allow the GSEs to continue to operate at low risk and in a way that provides broad access to affordable mortgage credit nationwide. Removing that check on GSE returns on equity would lead to greater risk...

Request for Information on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing

Deregulatory measures are not the antidote to the affordable housing crisis in our nation. The government must provide the necessary investments to combat the crisis and ensure that potential regulatory changes enhance equity, not detract from it. HUD and the White House Council must not use the RFI process to undermine important public interest protections, such as civil rights, labor...

Diverse Coalition Issues Joint Statement on Proposed Changes to Community Reinvestment Act

Yesterday, the FDIC and OCC released their notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This proposal utterly fails to achieve what were supposed to be the primary objectives of rule changes: greater clarity for lenders and better results for low- and moderate- income communities and people of color. It ignores the recommendations of our...

Comment: HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard

The proposed rule will have a toxic effect on the mortgage lending industry. The Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact doctrine has played a critical role in making fair housing available to all, while at the same time making the lending industry better at evaluating creditworthiness. A ban on unjustified disparate impact has encouraged the lending industry to systematically scrutinize its...

Comment: Faith Leaders on HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard

"As pastors and faith leaders, our sacred text teaches us to care for our neighbors and see the dignity of all of God’s people. Of all the issues confronting Americans, none is more basic than that of housing. Whether renting or owning a home, every family needs a place to come home to at the end of the day. It...

Comments to the CFPB on Qualified Mortgage Definition under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z)

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, National Urban League, and UnidosUS appreciate the opportunity to respond to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on the Qualified Mortgage (QM) definition under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Ability to Repay / Qualified Mortgage...

Preserving and Strengthening Access to Stable, Affordable, and Equitable Homeownership Opportunities for All American Families

From the letter to the director of the National Economic Council, Lawrence Kudlow: As you consider proposals to restructure our nation’s housing finance system as required by the March 2019 Presidential Memorandum,1 the undersigned civil rights organizations write to express our collective view that any effort to comprehensively reform Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs)—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—must recognize the importance...
Displaying 61 - 70 of 463