Fair Credit and Fair Housing in the Wake of the Subprime and Foreclosure Crisis

• 1. Housing Project PartnershipSupport for this theKirwan Institutes FutureNovember 10, 2009of Fair Housing initiativeis provided by the W.K.Detroit, MIKellogg Foundation Christy Rogers The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and EthnicityThe Ohio State University

2. Todays Agenda Purpose To engage you and learn more about the nature of fair housing and fair credit challenges in Detroit To incorporate your feedback into our broader blue print for the future of fair housing Agenda Introduction: The Future of Fair Housing & Fair Credit Small group brainstorming sessions Report out and discussion 3. About Kirwan Multidisciplinary appliedresearch institute Our mission is to expandopportunity for all, especially for ourmost marginalized communities Founded in 2003 by john powell Opportunity Communities Program(1/3 of staff) Opening pathways to opportunity for marginalized communities through investments in people, places and supporting linkages Opportunity mapping 3 4. available online:http://4909e99d35cada63e7f757471b7243be73e53e14.gripelements.com/publications/MI_Roundtable_Full_report.pdf 5. available online:http://4909e99d35cada63e7f757471b7243be73e53e14.gripelements.com/publications/MI_Roundtable_Full_report.pdf 6. NGrowth of Vacant HousingLegend: W E in Detroit 1970-2000 S City of Detroit % of Homes Vacant (% Vacant Housing Highways0-3 in 1970 and 2000) Counties3 - 10 10 - 15 Prepared by: Kirwan Institute Source Data: U.S. Census Bureau 15 - 20 20 - 57.6 % Vacant % Vacant 1970 20008 08 16 Miles 7. Background: National Initiative on SubprimeLending, Foreclosure and Race 8. What happened? -Lack of loan information or understanding for consumers More than Justin many of these communities Foreclosures and a Few Bad Borrowers:-Communities wereUnderstanding the Credit historically starved of credit Crisis Impact inCommunities of Color -Mortgage securitization and the growth of the subprimeWhy Were Subprime industry created incentives to Loans Concentrated in target new markets with These Neighborhoods? mortgages -Targeting and overconcentration of loans within these communities 9 9. From Redlining toReverse Redlining 10. On the reverse side of thecoin, J. Hernandez shows howareas in Sacramento with raciallyrestrictive covenants in the pasthad the fewest loan denialstodaywhere prime credit wassteered. 11. Background: National Initiative on SubprimeLending, Foreclosure and RaceQuestion: Wheresthe panel on theresultant worldwideeconomic meltdown? 12. Figure byChristopher L.Peterson, Univ.of Utah LawSchool 13. Research takeaways Unequal credit markets and segregated housing happenedtogether. Fair credit and fair housing (broadly defined) will only happen together. Global finance has evolved against and plays out in racially and economically segregated neighborhoods. We need to know more about banking and finance Fair housing and fair credit is an issue for all of us, butattention needs to be targeted to marginalizedcommunities. Otherwise, policies miss key opportunities and challenges and miss those most affected by the crisis. 14. Goals and Objectives Make progress in fair housing in three areas: Improve access to fair financial options Affirmative community revitalization Opportunity-based housing Ensure that programs and policies responding to thesubprime crisis reach those most affected Connect and engage diverse stakeholders for cross-cutting advocacy 15. The Future of Fair Credit and FairHousing: Key Questions How do we best tell the story that we know? This isimportant because the framing of the problem shapesits solution. How do we climb out of the subprime lending andforeclosure fiasco without worsening the alreadywidening opportunity gaps for communities of color? Home ownership and mortgage lending Credit access, debt, leverage Banking, savings 16. Initiative Design and Activities What? Understand new/current challenges and necessary pathways to success Provide a comprehensive view of changes needed Provide resources and spark action among advocates How? Commissioned research from national experts Input from advisory board Regional convenings (obtaining local expertise and insight) Collaboration & policy consensus building with national advocacy organizations 17. Upcoming Activities Similar policy feedback from regional policy convening: Seattle, WA Austin, TX New Orleans, LA Oakland, CA Federal policy and advocacy consensus building meetingon fair credit in Washington, DC (November 18) Final policy and advocacy blueprint all papers &blueprint publicly available (website & materialsavailable in early winter 2010) 18. Commissioned workInitial findingsEmerging areas of concern 19. Commissioned Research (Exs) Access to fair financial options (mortgage andotherwise) Banks increasing reliance on feesimplications for low-income customers and communities of color Discretionary pricing of financial products Consumer credit for those coming out of foreclosure Connect and engage diverse stakeholders What might an advocacy strategy around fair credit and fair banking look like? Whats the role for philanthropies? 20. Commissioned Research (Exs) Affirmative community revitalization How has the subprime crisis exacerbated fair housing and equitable community development challenges? (Minneapolis, Cleveland, Boston, Sacramento) How has the subprime and foreclosure crisis affected immigrants, especially low-income and undocumented immigrant homeowners? How might the homeowner/rental balance shift and affect rental markets? Ensure that programs and policies responding to thesubprime crisis reach those most affected How do we assess the current federal policy response with respect to fair housing and civil rights goals? (TARP, NSP2) What has the impact been on the AI/AN population (data)? 21. Properties in Foreclosure in North Minneapolis (Mark Ireland)No Home in Indian Country (Janeen Comenote)TARP Programs Must Affirmatively Further (DeeDee Swesnick) 22. Properties in foreclosure Study of North Minneapolis Subprime lenders did disproportionate lending in the area Vast majority of foreclosed mortgages issued throughmortgage broker (unregulated) CRL study: pay on avg. $35,000 more over life of loan vs.sub-prime mortgage through retail lender Prime lenders disproportionately absent Foreclosed homeowners owed 4-5% more than the original principal balance 23. Properties in foreclosure Under-reported, disproportionate affect on rentalfamilies with school-age children Rental properties accounted for 61% of foreclosures 40% of foreclosed households had children in Minneapolis public schools; 60% were African American Yet most foreclosure policies directed to homeowners Properties lose value and endanger neighbors Averaged ten months to sell at average loss of $65K 83% of properties had 911 calls post-Sheriffs Sale, with an average of 8 calls per property 24. No Home in Indian Country On-reservation populations Federal government has legal and trust responsibility toprovide housing for Native people NAHASDA Block grants to tribes and triballydesignated housing entities Currently able to meet 5% of need for housing Denial rate for conventional home purchase loans of23% -- twice that of Whites 25. No Home in Indian Country Off-reservation populations (majority of AI/AN population in US) 8-state study revealed the following barriers to housingfor urban Native people: credit checks, low income, lackof affordable housing stock, backgroundchecks, deposit/down payment requirements Disproportionate number of Natives in homeless sheltercare, but very few projects serving the Nativecommunity Little known about barriers to fair credit 26. TARPs duty to affirmatively further National Fair Housing Alliance paper Federal programs designed to mitigate the effects ofthe financial crisis must meet their obligations underthe Fair Housing Act TARP scope close to $ 3 Billion (OSIG Report) TARP funds relate to housing and urban development TARP funds must be spent in a way to affirmativelyfurther fair housing 27. Fair Housing Act requirements Federal programs designed to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis must meet their obligations under the Fair Housing Act All executive departments and agencies shall administertheir programs and activities relating to housing andurban development (including any Federal agencyhaving regulatory or supervisory authority over financialinstitutions) in a manner affirmatively to further thepurposes of this subchapter and shall cooperate with theSecretary [of HUD] to further such purposes. Sec.808(d) 28. Example: Home AffordableModification Program (HAMP) Funded by $75 Billion in TARP funds Incentivizes mortgage loan modifications to keepfamilies in their homes Civil rights & consumer groups had to advocate for thecollection and reporting of data on race, ethnicity &sex of applicants for HAMP loan modifications 29. Overdraft feesRemittance market 30. Embarrassing fee facts Half of overdraft fees are from small ATM/debitpurchases (the $40 cup of coffee) Some banks include the overdraft allowance in theaccount balance shown at the ATM In undercover visits, GAO officials often couldnt getrequired disclosures detailing fees A handful of consumers pay the lions share of fees (i.e.FDIC study showed that customers with 5 or more NSFtransactions 14% of customers -- accounted for93.4% of total NSF fees) 31. Civil rights concerns [Tree] People who overdraft repeatedly are more likely than the general population to be lower income, single, non-white, and renters Center for Responsible Lending. Quick Facts on Overdraft Loans. April9, 2009. http://www.responsiblelending.org/overdraft-loans/research-analysis/ [Forest] Incomes lag while housing, health care, and education costs skyrocketmore people get in more debt, but the picture is uneven. 32. Remittance market In 2004, 5% of transfers were done via direct deposit intoaccounts at financial institutions (40 milliontransactions/year) Western Union and Money Gram charge $12-50 fee pertransaction People are suspicious of bank pricing, dont have needed ID, or know of hand-to-hand alternatives Bank of America has offered free remittance service since 2005banks want new customers If banks are going to get new customers via the remittancemarket, how do we ensure that they subsequently offerthem sustainable options? 33. Fair housing and fair lending Group A: Barriers to / Best practices for access to fairfinancial options, mortgage and otherwise Group B: Barriers to / Best practices for affirmativecommunity revitalization Group C: Barriers to / Best practices for opportunity-based housing 34. Save the date; March 11-13, 2010 35. Thank You!www.kirwaninstitute.org38