Demonstrates how low-income credit unions (LICUs) have become a growing force in the world of financial institutions, using data collected from the National Credit Union Administration for the years 1990-1996. Highlights LICUs' successful financial management and crucial role in community reinvestment while stressing the need for targeted resources for these institutions.

The focus of this report is an analysis of changes in home buying in the Chicago area among different income groups.  We compared buyers in 1993 and 1994 (combined) to those in 1999 and 2000 (combined).

This report examines the extent to which neighborhoods within the Chicago area have obtained significant levels of income and racial diversity in home buying and maintained such diversity over the 1990s.  To do so, we compared compositions of buyers in neighborhoods across the metro area in 1993 and 1994 (combined) to those in 1999 and 2000 (combined).

Since the passage of the Gramm Leach Bliley Financial Modernization Act of 1999 (GLBA), insurance companies, banks, mortgage companies, and securities firms have been allowed to merge with and acquire one another for the first time since the Great Depression. This Alert discusses the community development implications of these changes. It also gives an overview of how insurance companies that have opened bank charters are performing in relation to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and fair lending.

This analysis concludes that current programs reach a small fraction of the population of lower income people. While the variety of training programs currently offered could be improved in a number of ways, the greater challenge is to figure out how to reach significantly more people with more substantive training.

Describes historical impact of secondary capital investments on low-income credit unions. Includes detailed case studies of four credit unions that are recipients of secondary capital investments. Offers policy recommendations related to the effectiveness of this investment tool.

This study finds that a number of basic financial services are lacking in Pilsen.  Only two institutions offer checking accounts and only two provide ATM service.  In a community that is 88 percent Latino, only one institution distributes literature in Spanish.  The study also finds that a majority of residents use currency exchanges for their primary financial needs.

Describes changes in the Illinois payday lending industry since 2001 when state rules regulating the industry were approved.

This report provides a new analysis of the payday lending industry and its customers.  Using data obtained from the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) and various other sources, it finds major faults in the key defenses that the industry has used against stronger consumer regulation.