Research

ABA: Report Shows More Consumers Paid Credit Card Balances in Full Amid Rising Card Use in Fourth Quarter 2019

Even as credit card use increased in the fourth quarter of 2019, a record share of consumers paid off their bill in full each month, according to the American Bankers Association’s latest quarterly Credit Card Market Monitor. Seasonally adjusted monthly purchase volumes rose compared to the previous quarter, particularly among super-prime (+4.0%) and prime (+2.9%) accounts,…

Census Bureau: New Experimental Veteran Employment Outcomes Statistics Released

Today, the Census Bureau released new experimental statistics on U.S. Army veterans’ outcomes in the civilian labor market. Veteran Employment Outcomes (VEO) provide annual earnings for veterans by military occupation, civilian industry and veteran characteristics — one, five, and 10 years after leaving service. These data show a broad distribution of labor market outcomes for recent veterans, highlighting…

Census Bureau: Some 2020 Census Field Operations to Resume

The U.S. Census Bureau, in coordination with federal, state and local health officials, will begin a phased restart of some 2020 Census field operations in select geographic areas this week.   Updates on the operations resuming by location are available at 2020census.gov. This webpage will be updated weekly as 2020 Census operations resume across the United…

CFPB: Report Shows Substantial Decline in Credit Applications in March 2020

A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) report examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic found that consumer credit applications declined substantially in March. Applications are measured by the number of credit pulls or “hard inquiries” that lenders perform when a consumer applies for new credit. The report found that between the first and last week…

Census Bureau: New Interactive Data Hub in Response to COVID-19 Released

Today the U.S. Census Bureau released a new resource page on census.gov to help federal agencies, businesses and communities make decisions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to the Census Bureau’s resource pages created during natural disasters, this resource page includes information on population demographics, economic indicators and businesses. It features a new interactive data hub that centralizes data previously released…

Federal Reserve: Public Information Available Regarding Programs to Support and Foster Economic Recovery

The Federal Reserve Board outlines the extensive and timely public information it will make available regarding its programs to support the flow of credit to households and businesses and thereby foster economic recovery Building on its strong record of transparency and accountability around financial reporting and the policymaking process, the Federal Reserve Board on Thursday…

FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.7 Percent in February; Up 5.7 Percent from 2019

U.S. house prices rose in February, up 0.7 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).  House prices rose 5.7 percent from February 2019 to February 2020.  The previously reported 0.3 percent increase for January 2020 was revised upward to 0.5 percent.  For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly…

Census Bureau: New Experimental “Pulse” Surveys to Track Temporal Trends in Housing and Small Businesses During Pandemic

In response to the unprecedented circumstances presented by COVID-19 and the urgent need for data, the U.S. Census Bureau is launching two new experimental surveys to measure temporal social and economic trends in the nation’s small businesses and households over the next three months. Responses from these experimental surveys will be posted within weeks of collection…

Federal Reserve: “Revitalize or Stabilize”: Does Community Development Financing Work?

Daniel Ringo Abstract: Banks in the United States originate $100 billion in community development loans every year and hold a similar amount of community development investments on their balance sheets. A number of federal place-based policies encourage the provision of these loans and investments to promote growth, employment and the availability of affordable housing to…

ABA: Report Shows Consumer Delinquencies Rise in Fourth Quarter of 2019

Consumer credit delinquencies rose in the fourth quarter of 2019, driven by increases in auto and home-related delinquencies, according to results from the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Overall, delinquencies rose in eight of the 11 categories tracked by ABA while delinquencies in three categories fell. The composite ratio, which tracks delinquencies in…