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Discussion Paper
Preserving multifamily rental housing: improving financing options in New Jersey
This paper summarizes the obstacles to financing small multifamily rental properties in New Jersey and makes recommendations for policies to address this credit need.
Discussion Paper
Alternative financial service providers and the spatial void hypothesis: the case of New Jersey and Delaware
This paper continues the use of the spatial void hypothesis methodology to analyze the location of alternative financial service providers, such as check cashing outlets and pawn shops, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Atlantic, Mercer, Monmouth, and Passaic counties in New Jersey. Also explores whether these providers are disproportionately serving minority and low-income areas.
Discussion Paper
Alternative financial vehicles: rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs)
This paper describes how ROSCAs work and discusses the benefits that accrue to ROSCA participants and some of the costs they incur. Of particular interest is the introduction of a partial data set collected from a local ROSCA, which offers a glimpse of the capital costs ROSCA participants face and which could ultimately be contrasted with the capital costs faced by borrowers at mainstream financial institutions.
Discussion Paper
The impact of housing rehabilitation on local neighborhoods: the case of St. Joseph's Carpenter Society
This paper presents the results of a Philadelphia Fed study that analyzes whether the community development efforts of a nonprofit in Camden, NJ, have an effect on local neighborhoods.
Discussion Paper
FHA lending activity in the past decade: a national overview
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which provides insurance for residential mortgage loans, was established by the National Housing Act of 1934 to stimulate housing demand and, in turn, demand for those who build housing. In the housing boom after World War II, FHA loans helped make mortgage credit more widely available to returning veterans. In recent decades, the FHA, which is now part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has disproportionately served first-time homebuyers as well as low- and moderate-income (LMI) and minority households. The FHA allows low down ...
Discussion Paper
The quality of FHA lending in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an agency within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), insures mortgage loans made by private lenders. All FHA-insured borrowers pay mortgage insurance as one of the terms of their mortgage loan, and this insurance protects the lender against losses if the borrower defaults. In addition to providing a mortgage guarantee, the FHA single-family loan program has features such as a low down payment and a low minimum credit score that benefit borrowers who may not be able to obtain financing in the conventional market. Because of the FHA?s ...
Discussion Paper
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and Bank Branching Patterns
This paper examines the relationship between the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and bank branching patterns, measured by the risk of branch closure and the net loss of branches at the neighborhood level, in the aftermath of Great Recession. Between 2009 and 2017, there was a larger decline in the number of bank branches in lower-income neighborhoods than in more affluent ones, raising concerns about access to mainstream financial services. However, once we control for supply and demand factors that influence bank branching decisions, we find generally consistent evidence that the CRA is ...
Discussion Paper
Alternative financial service providers and the spatial void hypothesis
This paper examines the use of alternative financial service providers (AFSPs) such as check-cashing outlets and pawnshops in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, and Allegheny counties. Also explores whether these providers are disproportionately serving minority and low-income areas.
Discussion Paper
How Does Buy Now, Pay Later Affect Customers’ Credit?
In this paper, we explore the relationship between consumers’ use of buy now, pay later (BNPL) and their credit reports. BNPL is a deferred payment tool that allows consumers to split transactions into four payments over six weeks. Unlike many other financial products, it is offered primarily by fintech companies and advertised to consumers as free from fees and credit checks. These providers typically do not report a consumer’s use of BNPL and subsequent repayment behavior to credit bureaus, which makes studies of BNPL users’ credit more challenging. In this analysis, however, we ...
Discussion Paper
GENDER DISPARITIES IN FINANCIAL WELL-BEING: from the Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking
This report analyzes gender differences with respect to individuals’ banking habits, credit access, and retirement planning from the Federal Reserve Board’s 2018 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED).