Today's Highlighted Articles

Mark Your Calendars for the Annual NCRC Conference

A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded


February 6, 2012 By:Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times

YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game.

Foreclosure Deal Deadline Arrives as States Must Choose Whether to Sign On


February 6, 2012 By:Bloomberg

States that balked at bank liability releases in a proposed $25 billion nationwide settlement over foreclosure practices must decide by today whether its mortgage relief and reforms are worth the legal claims they’ll give up.

Unemployment report: January job gains have economists rethinking outlooks


February 6, 2012 By:Washington Post

An unexpectedly rosy jobs report set off a chain reaction Friday, upending economists’ gloomy predictions for the coming year, leading to a surge on Wall Street and potentially boggling the political calculus of the 2012...

[more]

Mortgage rates hit a new low: 30-year fixed at 3.87%


February 3, 2012 By:CNN Money

Just one day after President Obama detailed a proposal to enable millions of homeowners to refinance to record-low mortgage rates, those rates notched another record. The 30-year, fixed rate fell to an average of 3.87% and the...

Do FHA Mortgage Borrowers Still Face Credit Score Layering?


January 17, 2012 By:Our Broker.com

“The investigations,” said HUD, “are in response to 22 complaints the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) filed with HUD alleging that the loan activities of the mortgage originators showed that their home lending...

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Recent News Categories

Community Development

Study: Blacks are less segregated than ever before

(Published on January 31, 2012) By:USA Today

Black segregation from other racial groups has hit its lowest point in more than a century — declining in all 85 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas — but social and income inequality persist.

Texas Heat and Drought Caused by Global Warming, NASA's Hansen Says

(Published on January 31, 2012) By:Inside Climate News

For three months last summer, temperatures in Texas soared higher than at any time in recorded history, and the state is still coping with the most expensive drought in its history. But can the 2011 Texas heat wave be attributed...

How Credit Unions Support Community Development

(Published on January 30, 2012) By:US News and World Report

In many ways, credit unions are just like regular banks. They offer checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and all the other financial products you’d expect, but there’s one characteristic that really sets them...

More Community Development News

Community Reinvestment

The Bank That Works

(Published on January 30, 2012) By:Forbes

As financial services continue to struggle with credibility--and profitability--John Stumpf's Wells Fargo is quietly doing what banks are supposed to: opening accounts, making loans and issuing mortgages. He may even have a...

Fifth Third invests $200,000 in five community groups in Akron, Cleveland

(Published on January 27, 2012) By:Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Fifth Third Bank is awarding $200,000 in five Northeast Ohio non-profit community groups, the bank announced Thursday. The investments are going to three Cleveland-based groups: Esperanza Inc., Neighborhood...

Vermont gets $21.6M for flood-damaged communities

(Published on January 23, 2012) By:CBS News

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont learned Friday that it will get $21.6 million in emergency funds— three times more than many expected it would get from a federal program — to help rebuild Irene-damaged communities. The state is among...

More Community Reinvestment News

Economy

A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times

YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game.

Foreclosure Deal Deadline Arrives as States Must Choose Whether to Sign On

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Bloomberg

States that balked at bank liability releases in a proposed $25 billion nationwide settlement over foreclosure practices must decide by today whether its mortgage relief and reforms are worth the legal claims they’ll give up.

Unemployment report: January job gains have economists rethinking outlooks

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Washington Post

An unexpectedly rosy jobs report set off a chain reaction Friday, upending economists’ gloomy predictions for the coming year, leading to a surge on Wall Street and potentially boggling the political calculus of the 2012...

[more]

More Economy News

Housing

A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times

YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game.

Foreclosure Deal Deadline Arrives as States Must Choose Whether to Sign On

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Bloomberg

States that balked at bank liability releases in a proposed $25 billion nationwide settlement over foreclosure practices must decide by today whether its mortgage relief and reforms are worth the legal claims they’ll give up.

Nevada's triple economic whammy

(Published on February 3, 2012) By:CNN Money

The Great Recession has dealt Nevada a losing hand. The Silver State, which will hold the Republican caucus on Saturday, has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in unemployment, foreclosure filings and share of homes...

More Housing News

Legislation / Regulatory

A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times

YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game.

Foreclosure Deal Deadline Arrives as States Must Choose Whether to Sign On

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Bloomberg

States that balked at bank liability releases in a proposed $25 billion nationwide settlement over foreclosure practices must decide by today whether its mortgage relief and reforms are worth the legal claims they’ll give up.

Obama plan aims to help borrowers refinance

(Published on February 3, 2012) By:DesMoines Register

President Barack Obama called Wednesday for new efforts to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, adding a new series of proposals to a growing list of initiatives intended to stimulate the nation’s troubled housing...

More Legislation / Regulatory News

Financial Literacy

A Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Gretchen Morgenson, NY Times

YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game.

Foreclosure Deal Deadline Arrives as States Must Choose Whether to Sign On

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Bloomberg

States that balked at bank liability releases in a proposed $25 billion nationwide settlement over foreclosure practices must decide by today whether its mortgage relief and reforms are worth the legal claims they’ll give up.

Unemployment report: January job gains have economists rethinking outlooks

(Published on February 6, 2012) By:Washington Post

An unexpectedly rosy jobs report set off a chain reaction Friday, upending economists’ gloomy predictions for the coming year, leading to a surge on Wall Street and potentially boggling the political calculus of the 2012...

[more]

More Financial Literacy News

Small Business

Intuit: Small business adds 50,000 jobs in January

(Published on January 31, 2012) By:MarketWatch

Small businesses added 50,000 new jobs in January but paid employees slightly less and gave them fewer hours, according to Intuit Inc.'s monthly small business employment index. For the period spanning Dec. 24 to Jan. 23, Intuit...

Fed Says Business-Loan Demand Climbed Last Quarter as Economy Accelerated

(Published on January 31, 2012) By:Bloomberg

Demand for business loans increased in the fourth quarter as economic growth accelerated, according to a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers at banks. Seventeen of 56 banks reported stronger demand among companies with...

Startups Report From Shoestring Publishing Shows New Trends in Small Business Startups

(Published on January 30, 2012) By:PR Web

A new report from Shoestring Publishing shows that more people in the USA are starting their own businesses since the beginning of the recession in the USA, according to Justin Douglas from Shoestring. He says, "an increase of...

More Small Business News