ABA: Bank Economists Continue to Grow More Optimistic About Credit Conditions
Bank economists are growing more optimistic about the outlook for credit conditions over the next six months compared to the latter half of 2023, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest Credit Conditions Index released today. The latest summary of ABA’s Credit Conditions Index examines a suite of indices derived from the quarterly outlook for credit markets…
CFPB: New Report Finds More Americans Are Paying Upfront Fees Seeking to Lower Interest Rates on Mortgages
“Discount points” have uncertain value for borrowers The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new report today finding that more borrowers paid “discount points” upfront as overall interest rates rose. The percentage of homebuyers paying discount points roughly doubled from 2021 to 2023. The increase was even greater among borrowers with lower credit scores. While…
OCC: National Financial Capability Month Celebrated in April
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) supports National Financial Capability Month in April, and encourages national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks) to support this annual commemoration by recommitting their focus on improving the financial capability and financial health of their customers. Banks can promote financial capability through high-quality financial literacy…
SBA: Two Business Recovery Centers Open to Support Small Businesses Amid Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse
Centers Will Help Small Business Owners Apply for Low-Interest Economic Injury Disaster Loans as Part of Biden-Harris Administration’s Whole-of-Government Approach to Recovery Today the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the opening of a second Business Recovery Center (BRC) at the CareFirst Engagement Center (1501 South Clinton Street) in Baltimore to provide further federal government support to businesses affected by…
SBA: 2024 Export Lender Award Winners Recognized
Export Lenders of the Year and International Trade Lender of the Year are from Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced the 2024 Export Lender of the Year Award winners. This year, the SBA’s Office of International Trade selected…
CFPB: 2023 HMDA Loan-Level Data on Mortgage Lending Now Available
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Modified Loan Application Register (LAR) data for 2023 are now available on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) HMDA Platform for approximately 5,089 HMDA filers. The published data contain loan-level information filed by financial institutions and modified to protect consumer privacy. To increase public accessibility, the annual loan-level…
FHFA: Fourth Quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report Released
More than 6.9 million troubled homeowners assisted during conservatorships The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its fourth quarter 2023 Foreclosure Prevention and Refinance Report. The report shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) completed 43,903 foreclosure prevention actions during the quarter, raising the total number of homeowners who have been helped…
ABA: Report Finds Farm Bank Lending Increased to $110 Billion in 2023
Banks reported holding over 1.1 million small farm loans worth $70 billion Amid elevated production costs, commodity price volatility and a return to pre-pandemic levels of direct government payments, agricultural loan demand increased in 2023 and agricultural lending by U.S. farm banks grew 6.7% to $110.0 billion, according the American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank…
FHFA: 2024 Generative AI in Housing Finance TechSprint Announced
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced its second TechSprint, an in-person team-based problem-solving event hosted by its Office of Financial Technology. FHFA’s Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Housing Finance TechSprint will bring together technology, regulatory, housing, and consumer finance experts to identify use cases (or specific scenarios) and associated control measures to support…
ABA: Consumer Survey Data Unveiled on Debit Cards, Overdraft and Other Banking Issues
In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s recent proposal to further lower the price cap on the debit interchange merchants pay to process debit card transactions, a new survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association finds that consumers are happy with their debit cards and think the government should leave…