Indepth analysis of persistant problems in the field of community development. Woodstock's research reports contribute to the body of knowledge used by policymakers and community development practitioners.
New evidence indicates the largest Chicago area banks have not expanded
into lower income and minority markets, despite the substantial
purchasing power and concentration of potential deposits available in
these communities.
Foreclosures spiked in the last quarter of 2007 nearly every community in the Chicago region, based on forecosure filings analyzed by Woodstock Institute. This report also found that foreclosure filings have increased in suburban areas that have not traditionally been associated with high foreclosure levels.
Demonstrates that banks with a commitment to reach unbanked or under-banked households can do so effectively and efficiently. The report profiles programs and services at Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, Union Bank of California, First Bank of the Americas in Chicago, First Interstate Bank in Montana and Wyoming, and Wells Fargo Bank Wisconsin. These banks provide affordable checking or lifeline accounts, innovative financial literacy programs, and creative outreach and marketing strategies.
This alert analyses a variety of measures of debt to provide an overall sense of changes in U.S. household debt levels and the impact of those changes on different groups of families.
Whitni Thomas and Jessica Brown, new economics foundation
Malcolm Bush and Geoff Smith, Woodstock Institute
This report seeks to reinvigorate the debate on bank disclosure in the UK and to create a better understanding of why it should be demanded of banks. This analysis is carried out through detailed case studies comparing Charter One Bank in Chicago in the US – where banks have disclosed local lending practices since 1975- with its parent company Royal Bank of Scotland in Manchester – to review the level of information available and the impact that this has.
To do this we evaluate the available information on small-business lending, bank branch availability and basic bank account opening in underserved areas of Manchester. Our analysis indicates that data on these factors is generally difficult to obtain, inconsistent, and in many cases incomplete.
