OCC: Supporting Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency wants more eligible working families to benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and is promoting EITC Awareness Day on January 26, 2018. “EITC Awareness Day is an important opportunity to educate the American public, and in particular, workers with and low and moderate incomes, about…
HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for December 2017
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for December 2017: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in December 2017 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000. This is 9.3 percent (±11.0 percent) below the revised November…
HUD: Wholesale Review of Manufactured Housing Rules Announced
Public comment sought in effort to identify regulations that stifle affordable housing and job creation The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a top-to-bottom review of its manufactured housing rules as part of a broader effort to identify regulations that may be ineffective, overly burdensome, or excessively costly given the critical…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in December 2017
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from November to December, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.08 percent for loans closed in late December, up 3 basis points from 4.05 percent in November….
Interagency Statement: Agencies to Give Favorable CRA Consideration to Revitalization Activities in Disaster Areas Affected by Hurricane Maria
OCC Statement FDIC Statement Federal Reserve Statement The federal bank regulatory agencies today announced they will give favorable consideration under Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations to institutions that are located outside of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, which were designated as major disaster areas in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, for bank activities…
CFPB: Changes Finalized to Prepaid Account Rules
Changes Provide More Flexibility and Extend Effective Date to April 2019 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced today that it has finalized updates to its 2016 prepaid rule. The Bureau’s 2016 prepaid rule put in place requirements for treatment of funds on lost or stolen cards, error resolution and investigation, upfront fee disclosures, access…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.4 Percent in November 2017
U.S. house prices rose in November, up 0.4 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.5 percent increase in October was revised upward to 0.6 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…
SBA: Free Webinar Series to Help Small Businesses Navigate the HUBZone Program
The U.S. Small Business Administration will present a six-part, free webinar series to help small businesses navigate its Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone Program that will run from February to mid-March. The hour-long webinars will cover the following topics: Feb. 7 HUBZone Contracting: Make the Federal Government Your Customer 2-3p.m. EST Small businesses will…
FEMA: Encouraging Tsunami Awareness and Preparedness for Coastal Communities
Following an intense earthquake that occurred in the Gulf of Alaska, which prompted tsunami watches, advisories and warnings across many state coastlines, FEMA continues to highlight safety tips for those who live in or visit coastal communities. While today’s immediate threat has passed, the situation serves as a reminder to all that there are steps…