The foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s left an enormous trail of economic destruction in its wake. Most Americans are familiar with the obvious damage — the crisis cost nearly $200 billion in lost wealth, resulted in over 4.5 million Americans losing their homes,2 and triggered the worst recession since the Great Depression. One long-term…
On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed rule that would make it much harder for immigrants to obtain visas (including visas to study or work in the U.S.), to extend their visas, or to become lawful permanent residents (“green card holders”). The proposal greatly expands what will be considered…
The undersigned associations, consumer, civil rights and advocacy groups wrote to express opposition to H.R. 435. This legislation, if enacted, would reduce consumers’ control over their own data by preempting state and federal privacy protections, damage the credit scores of millions of consumers with a disproportionate impact on African Americans, and conflict with long-standing state…
Read More about Coalition letter opposing H.R. 435, Credit Access and Inclusion Act
It’s been one of the most confounding economic paradoxes of the COVID-19 pandemic – why have credit scores remained steady, or even increased, despite the financial ruin caused by record unemployment, with entire industries such as restaurants and tourism decimated? The average FICO score has risen from 703 to 711, while delinquencies for credit card…
Read More about The Credit Score Pandemic Paradox and Credit Invisibility
After racial justice protests and Black Lives Matter activism last summer, advocates and policymakers have proposed a number of programs for lessening the yawning racial disparities in Black-white homeownership and wealth. These include proposals for downpayment assistance, homeownership counseling, and special lending programs for Black borrowers. The latter are referred to as “special purpose credit…