Washington, DC – Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) applauded the news that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil fraud complaint against Standards and Poor’s Rating Services for inflating crediting ratings for residential mortgage backed securities and collateralized debt obligations in the years leading to the financial crisis.

“For years NCRC has being saying that the credit rating agencies, including Standard and Poor’s, knowingly issued inflated credit ratings for securities backed by problematic high cost loans,” said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. “We have previously filed several complaints with regulators against S&P and the other top credit rating agencies on this issue. These credit rating agencies played a key role in causing the housing and foreclosure crisis, which has caused severe financial harm to millions. It is due time that the Department of Justice brings a credit rating agency to task for their transgressions. We hope to see more action of this nature.”

In 2008 NCRC filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the three top credit agencies, Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”), Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) and the Standard and Poor’s Division of the McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”) alleging that the rating agencies substantially contributed to the housing and foreclosure crisis by making public misrepresentations about the soundness and reliability of securities ratings.

In 2009, NCRC filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity against Standard & Poor’s alleging that the credit rating agencies substantially contributed to the housing and foreclosure crisis in African-American and Latino communities by making public misrepresentations about the soundness and reliability of subprime securities’ ratings.

About the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC): The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development, and vibrant communities for America's working families.

Washington, DC - Today, in reaction to the news that President Obama has renominated Richard Cordray to lead to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:

“Richard Cordray has done an outstanding job as CFPB Director, and we urge the Senate to confirm his nomination. Under his excellent leadership, the agency has established itself as a strong and effective regulator that looks out for the interests of consumers. From the CFPB’s enforcement action against Capital One for deceptive and abusive credit card practices, to the many new protections and accountability mechanisms the agency has implemented, they have accomplished a lot over the last year. The Senate should confirm his nomination promptly so that he can continue that work.”

NCRC previously applauded President Obama’s 2012 recess appointment of Richard Cordray to lead the CFPB.

About the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC):
The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development, and vibrant communities for America's working families.

Washington, DC – Today, in reaction to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) release of new appraisal rules, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:

“The CFPB’s new appraisal rules promote transparency and fairness for consumers. In a step that NCRC has long called for, all consumers will now receive copies of appraisals and automated valuation model (AVM) reports and will be able to check them for errors. Further, consumers and industry alike will benefit from the use of responsible valuation professionals in high cost loan origination. We are very pleased that the CFPB has taken our recommendations in this area.”

“One of the most overlooked elements of the housing and economic crisis is the role that inflated appraisals played. Research shows that 90% of appraisals during the height of the period of irresponsible, toxic lending were improperly and illegally influenced by lenders. Conversely, since the onset of the crisis home values have been overly deflated. The new disclosure requirements help immensely with both of these problems.”

“In addition to the steps they have taken thus far, the CFPB and the other regulators should undertake additional rulemaking to better regulate the activities of Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs), and to create a true arms length between originators and appraisers, which is already required by law but largely ignored.”

In June of 2012, NCRC Chief Program Officer David Berenbaum testified on appraisal oversight before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services.

About NCRC

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development and vibrant communities for America's working families. To find out more, visit http://www.ncrc.org

Washington, DC – Today, in reaction to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) release of new mortgage servicing rules, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:

“The CFPB’s new mortgage servicing rules set bright lines for mortgage servicers and help to ensure that consumers will be treated fairly and with respect. In conjunction with the Qualified Mortage (QM) rule, these rules provide clarity and set parameters for fair and equal access to loans and the servicing of loans.”

“With the new rules CFPB has recently issued in place, the uncertainty which lenders have blamed for the market-wide constriction of credit is no longer a factor. We expect that the issuance of the QM rule and these new servicing rules should result in a large increase in safe and sound lending to creditworthy borrowers.“

“It is now time for the President and Congress to put more energy and resources into preventing foreclosures and keeping working families in their homes. Bright line standards alone will unfortunately not suffice for underwater homeowners who have been harmed by the irresponsible lending which led to the housing crisis. The President must also ensure that the GSEs, now a presumptive qualified mortgage securitizer, do not artificially constrict credit with higher credit score requirements and g-fees.”

About NCRC

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development and vibrant communities for America's working families. To find out more, visit http://www.ncrc.org

Washington, DC – Today, in reaction to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) release of the Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule and the inclusion of a legal “safe harbor” for certain qualified mortgages, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in creating a legal safe harbor for certain qualified mortgages, has given the industry a protection that does nothing to help consumers. It is an unneeded and undeserved privilege for the lending industry, which caused grave financial harm to millions of Americans during the financial crisis.”

“What the safe harbor does is abridge consumers’ legal rights in favor of lenders' interests. No matter how well crafted, QM cannot be foolproof in that it cannot anticipate the future. New products can emerge, and new industry strategies can take hold. Therefore, consumers should have full legal recourse when they are abused in ways that the QM rule does not anticipate.”

“Regardless, this rule removes the excuse lenders throughout the country have used as to why they have been constricting access to mortgage credit. With the rule in place, we look forward to the issuance of a lot more mortgage products to creditworthy borrowers, which will help stimulate the housing market and economic recovery.”

NCRC has previously called for a rebuttable presumption for qualified mortgages.

About NCRC

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development and vibrant communities for America's working families. To find out more, visit http://www.ncrc.org

Washington, DC -- Today, in reaction to the announcement of an $8.5 billion settlement between the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve Board and ten banks, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:

“While compensation for homeowners who have been harmed is a good thing, it is unfortunate that the OCC has abandoned the Independent Foreclosure Review process for these banks. Although the Independent Foreclosure Review process has been deeply problematic, fixing it would have been a preferable strategy to ensure that banks are held accountable for each of their misdeeds. Regulators could have opted to improve the Independent Foreclosure Review process by enhancing outreach, enforcement and accountability mechanisms, and taking other steps to ensure that homeowners who have been harmed receive a fair review and fair payment for any financial harm as a result of bank abuses.”

“In terms of the actual monetary compensation involved, this settlement will not settle the score. In fact, it is likely that we will now never fully know the extent of the damage wrought on American homeowners without a case-by-case review. This settlement unfortunately allows these banks and the government to wash their hands of that responsibility. As much as everyone wants to turn the corner and put this period in American finance behind us, the truth is there are real people facing real problems who are being left behind."

About NCRC

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development and vibrant communities for America's working families. To find out more, visit http://www.ncrc.org

Washington, DC -- On December 19, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Washington, DC MBDA Business Center, will present its 8^th Annual MBDA Business Center Awards.  The awards will acknowledge those that have significantly furthered the center’s efforts to increase access to contracting opportunities and financing for minority business enterprises in 2012.

The awards reception will be held from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM on December 19 at the SunTrust Building, on 1445 New York Avenue, NW 9^th floor, Washington, DC. Members of the public who wish to attend can find details on registration here. This event is open to members of the press.

The 2012 honorees include:

Mountaintop Marketing Group

Crystal Enterprises

The Procurement Office of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

U.S. Black Chamber

This event is in collaboration with the NCRC Small Business Teaming Center.

NCRC is the only non-profit organization in the country that operates three MBDA Business Centers, with centers in Washington, D.C., New York, NY, and Houston, TX. NCRC also manages a Women's Business Center sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), an SBA Teaming Center, and a community development fund.

About the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC):

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development, and vibrant communities for America's working families.

Washington, DC– Today, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement on FHA’s 2012 Annual Financial Status report:

"After 78 years of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) doing things right and performing well from a fiscal perspective, the recent news about its financial health must be seen in perspective. Without FHA, and the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), there is no mortgage market today.”

“No entity, be they private sector or government, has come out of this economic crisis totally unscathed. Congress should recognize that FHA was not insulated from the crisis, and in that it in fact has performed very well in comparison to many private financial institutions, which years ago needed massive bailouts paid for by taxpayers. If anyone is to blame here, it is Congress itself for allowing years of predatory and subprime lending to go unchecked. With key consumer protections now in place as a result of Dodd-Frank, the focus moving forward should be on ensuring that there is fair access to credit and a robust housing market.”

“Many major banks nearly went out of business because of this crisis. FHA made it through in much better shape than many of its private sector counterparts, and it should be allowed to continue to perform the job that it has done so well for America for so many years."

About the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC):

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development, and vibrant communities for America's working families.

Washington, DC – Today, in reaction to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) newly published rule allowing the agency to regulate the debt collection industry, NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:

“The CFPB should be commended for taking steps to reign in the debt collection industry and protect consumers from unsavory and unfair practices. By moving to clean up this industry, the new cop on the regulatory beat has again shown that they are serious about ensuring that consumers have the protections they need in the financial marketplace."

“The CFPB should take the following additional measures to ensure consumers are protected from bad practices in debt collection:

·      Undertake vigorous enforcement actions where appropriate and necessary.
·      Freeze charges, fees and interest if a debt collection complaint is pending with the CFPB.
·      Ensure that debt collection payment plans reflect a consumer’s ability to pay.
·      Halt collection activity for at least 30 days if a consumer has requested assistance from a creditor, nonprofit credit or housing counseling agency, or state consumer protection agency.”

“This is an industry where the consumers are often wrongly targeted for collections, and often targeted for incorrect debts. Consumers are also often subject to harassment, poor treatment, and false threats, and are frequently not adequately informed of their rights in writing. The CFPB’s entry into regulating this realm is a welcome development.”

"On the horizon is a very important decision for the CFPB on how to define a qualified mortgage. We need the CFPB to continue to demonstrate this same vigilance and commitment to consumer rights as they conduct rulemaking on qualified mortgages, by including a rebuttable presumption in the qualified mortgage (QM) rule. This decision is imminent, and the CFPB must ensure that consumer rights are not abridged by the rule."

About the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC):

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development, and vibrant communities for America's working families.

Washington, DC – Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) announced that the NCRC Community Development Fund has received certification from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

“We are very excited to receive CDFI certification,” said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. “This certification will allow NCRC to further build out our financial and technical assistance services for small businesses and minority- and women-owned small businesses.”

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition operates three U.S. Department of Commerce-sponsored Minority Business Centers (in Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Houston, TX), a Women’s Business Center sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and an SBA Small Business Teaming Center. The NCRC Community Development Fund (NCRC CDF) is a small business investment fund that measures the success of its investments by financial return, positive social impact, and environmental benefits in its current target market of the District of Columbia, with plans to serve women- and minority-owned businesses nationwide in the future.

To date, NCRC CDF, through the Fund and the NCRC Small Business Center affiliates, has counseled and provided technical assistance to over 1,500 small businesses, assisted in securing over $2 billion in financing and contracts, created over 150 new jobs, and directly lent $150,000 to women, minority, and low-income owned businesses in the District of Columbia Metro area.

About the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC):

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition is an association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to create and sustain affordable housing, job development, and vibrant communities for America's working families.