Just News

for April 7, 2023

News and views from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. Find more at ncrc.org.

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Views

Highlights From The 2023 Just Economy Conference

By NCRC

The largest Just Economy Conference in NCRC history was also one of the newsiest: As attendees arrived to the Washington Hilton, the banking industry was reeling from three regional bank failures. Some regulators who’d been scheduled to speak were being called to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress, but still made time to connect with the NCRC audience either from the main stage or via video calls. [Read more]

CFPB Puts Lenders & FinTechs On Notice: Their Models Must Search For Less Discriminatory Alternatives Or Face Fair Lending Non-Compliance Risk

By Brad Blower

The fresh heads-up to the industry came from Patrice Ficklin, the Associate Director of the CFPB’s Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity, who said that lenders must search for less discriminatory alternatives (LDAs) as part of their fair lending compliance testing. Ficklin’s comments would apply to all model-based lending practices, whether or not they use AI tools specifically. This is the first time the CFPB has made it clear that a lender must demonstrate that its models could not be reasonably enhanced to be more fair before they are launched and during their use. [Read more]

Research

Race, Jobs & The Economy

By Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Jason Richardson and Joseph Dean

Black and Hispanic unemployment rates often spike before other groups when a recession begins. The February jobs report may flame the fears of a recession. [Read more]

News

CFPB Is Right To Challenge Flagrantly Incorrect Ruling In Townstone Suit

By NCRC

It is patently ludicrous for any court to find that a federally-regulated mortgage company and its owner, President and CEO can host a radio show where the owner publicly called Black neighborhoods “jungles” that are “scary places” because they are “packed [with] people from all over the world” who participate in “hoodlum weekends” while marketing financial services to the public and not face any consequences for their discriminatory conduct.

[Read more]

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra Announces Final Section 1071 Rules At NCRC’s Just Economy Conference

By NCRC

“Director Chopra was able to push out this important and long-awaited final regulation on small-business lending data collection after barely a year in the job,” NCRC President and CEO Jesse Van Tol said. “I applaud Director Chopra and his staff for the hard work that went into delivering a rule Congress authorized nearly 13 years ago to eliminate blind spots around access to small business loans. It is just the latest reminder of how essential it is for the American people to have reliable information on how access to credit is still affected by race and gender. [Read more]

NCRC Video's

Jesse Van Tol’s Moving Keynote Speech From The 2023 Just Economy Conference Awards Gala

By NCRC

Jesse Van Tol, NCRC President and CEO. |. 2023 Just Economy Conference

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra Announces Section 1071 Final Rule At 2023 Just Economy Conference

By NCRC

Rohit Chopra | 2023 Just Economy Conference | 3 3 2023

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge Addresses The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s 2023 Just Economy Conference

By NCRC

Marcia L Fudge | 2023 Just Economy Conference | 3 30 2023

Watch all the mainstage speakers from the Just Economy Conference here.

In the News

Silicon Valley Bank Pledged $11 Billion In Community Benefits. Now What?

By Allissa Kline, American Banker

Acknowledging that SVB is "a different bank with different capabilities" today is central to figuring out how to move forward, said Jesse Van Tol, president and CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a fair-lending group that helps negotiate community benefits plans. [Read more]

KeyBank Lending In Black Communities Falls Short, Study Shows. Could Cuyahoga Be Shopping For A New Bank Soon?

By Kaitlin Durbin, Cleveland News

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a fair-lending advocacy group, cut ties with KeyBank last year after a similar study showed it was failing. [Read more]

OCC's Hsu: Fairness As Important To Bank Health As Safety And Soundness

By Ebrima Santos Sanneh, American Banker

"It is precisely during times like these — when the world is fixated on financial and systemic risks — that issues of fairness can get pushed to the bottom of the pile and ignored," Hsu said in his prepared remarks before the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's Washington summit Thursday. "We need to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time — i.e., maintain a laser focus on effective financial risk management and work to ensure fairness."

[Read more]

On Our Radar

Historical Redlining Linked With Stroke Prevalence In NYC

By Gianna Melillo, Yahoo News

In the study, researchers determined weighted scores for historical redlining using the average proportion of original redlined territory overlapped with 2010 census tract boundaries in New York City. They then assessed how redlining compared with other social determinants of health when it came to modern-day stroke prevalence. [Read More]

Stocks, Yields Fall; Data Suggests U.S. Economy Cooling

By Caroline Valetkevitch, Reuters

World stock indexes declined on Tuesday, with all three major U.S. stock indexes ending lower, while the U.S. dollar fell to a two-month low and Treasury yields eased after data suggested a cooling in the U.S. labor market. [Read more]

Resources

Work And Meet At The Just Economy Club
It's a DC hub for nonprofits and the social sector, around the corner from the White House. Move your team into a private office or host your meetings and events or hang out in the lounge. [Read more]

Learning & Training Hub
Register for NCRC's catalog of professional development courses for community development leaders. [Learn more]

Research And Reports
We have an extensive library of research and reports that dates back many years; now available in one convenient location! [View all]

Racial Wealth Snapshots
Browse our catalog of socioeconomic briefs and infographics. [View all]

Sign And Share The Just Economy Pledge
America should not only promise but deliver to all Americans opportunities to build wealth and live well. Sign the pledge and share it to help us expand the movement for a Just Economy. [Sign and Share]

Member Hub
NCRC members: Don't forget you have access to our member hub! Learn more about membership here. You can join as an organization or an individual.

Fair Lending Tool
Use our interactive tool to produce a report on mortgages, small business lending and bank branch networks for any city, county or metro area in the nation. [Access the tool here]

TreasureCRA
Keep up and catch up on plans to strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act. [Read more]

Support Women Entrepreneurs

Interested in becoming a supporting partner of the DC Women's Business Center? Learn more here.

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