Research
June 3, 2013
For years, community groups and advocates around the country have waged pitched battles to eliminate payday lending in their respective states. Notwithstanding extensive documentation of the payday lending debt trap and the billions of dollars payday lenders have systematically stripped from low-income families and communities, especially those of color, the payday lending industry has cannily built and exerted its political power in state capitols throughout the U.S. As a result, many states permit usurious payday lending, with often dire consequences for millions of payday loan borrowers already struggling to make ends meet.
March 11, 2013
This fact sheet examines women’s access to mortgages following the collapse of the housing bubble.
September 10, 2012
Millions of Americans are approaching retirement age without adequate retirement savings. The ongoing
foreclosure and financial crisis and declines in housing values wiped out trillions in savings and home equity that
people counted on using to help support themselves later in life. American workers, particularly those nearing
retirement, are deeply concerned about income insecurity and fear that they will outlive their savings. Without adequate savings, American workers face the prospect of a decline in their standard of living during retirement.
July 18, 2012
This report finds evidence of a two-tiered mortgage market characterized by high rates of FHA and VA loans made both to borrowers in communities of color and to borrowers of color.
March 22, 2012
The following analysis examines patterns of negative equity in communities of different racial and ethnic compositions in the Chicago six county region. It combines 2011 data on negative equity in Chicago region ZIP codes with U.S. Census data on the racial/ethnic composition of ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA).
April 29, 2011
This report examined geographical, gender-related, and chapter choice trends in data from federal bankruptcy courts in Cook County. It found that women make up a larger share of individual bankruptcy filers in all communities, and a dramatically larger share in African American communities, than men do.
April 27, 2011
Paying More for the American Dream V examines changes in conventional refinance lending between 2008 and 2009 in seven metropolitan areas: Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York City, and Rochester, NY.
January 12, 2011
The following report illustrates the relationship between foreclosures and vacant properties in the City of Chicago. It combines data from the City of Chicago on vacant and potentially vacant buildings with data on foreclosure filings, completed foreclosure auctions, and property transfers to better understand the number of vacant properties that have at some point been part of the foreclosure process.
September 13, 2010
This report analyzed credit score data from a major national credit bureau in large Illinois zip codes and found significant disparities in credit characteristics between communities of color and predominantly white communities, as well as between major metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan areas.
Paying More for the American Dream IV: The Decline of Prime Mortgage Lending in Communities of Color
May 12, 2010
This report, released by a national coalition of research, policy and advocacy organizations, examined mortgage lending patterns of banks in seven metropolitan areas and found a dramatic decrease in prime home purchase and refinance loans to communities of color. The report includes appendices for each metropolitan area and policy recommendations.