Training and Events
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Washington, DC -- Today, at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's (NCRC) annual conference, a panel of top experts will discuss and debate how best to reach equitable, workable solutions to the foreclosure crisis. The plenary will feature Joseph Smith Jr., monitor for the national mortgage settlement, Franklin Raines, former Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO, Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League, Mark Calabria, Director of Financial Regulation Studies at the Cato Institute, Diane Thompson, Of Counsel at the National Consumer Law Center, and Hubert Van Tol, Director for Economic Justice at Pathstone. The panel will discuss the measures necessary to stop the foreclosure epidemic, implement principal reductions on a large scale, and bring the housing market and economy back to full strength.
"We are very pleased to have this group of leading experts tackle these critical issues at our conference," said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. "The housing market will continue to be a drag on the economy until policy makers and financial institutions alike can come together and offer serious, equitable remedies. This event is a forum to bring constructive ideas to the forefront."
"Some see the current economy as a glass half empty, and some as a glass half full. But no matter how you look at it, the broken housing market is a hole in the bottom of that proverbial glass. Until we fix it, we will never fill the glass."
Joseph Smith, Jr. made the following statement about the conference: "The consumer advocates attending NCRC's meeting are true experts about the issues Americans face in the housing market. This conference marks an important first step in what I hope will be a productive working relationship with these advocates. I hope that together we will find a way to reboot the mortgage industry in a way that is more focused on the consumer."
The conference also features workshops and state-of-the-art training to give NCRC's members and conference participants the tools to implement change in their communities.
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Washington, DC -- Today, in a keynote address at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition's (NCRC) annual conference, Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray announced that the agency will use all available legal avenues, including disparate impact, to pursue discriminatory lenders.
"We want consumers to avoid the marketplace's silent pickpocket -- discrimination," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "We cannot afford to tolerate practices, intentional or not, that unlawfully price out or cut off segments of the population from the credit markets. That's why the CFPB is educating consumers about their fair lending rights and pursuing lenders whose practices are discriminatory."
NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement: "This is a significant decision. It will help to shine a spotlight on the discriminatory practices in the lending marketplace, which are widespread and need to be purged. There should be no tolerance for discrimination, whether in intent or in practice. CFPB's action is a positive step towards building an economic system that offers opportunity and a fair chance to prosper for all Americans. We applaud CFPB Director Cordray for his leadership."
"Cordray made two key announcements in efforts to guard against fair lending abuses. He established that the CFPB is concerned with eliminating practices that, intentionally or not, have the effect of discriminating against people. He affirmed the intention of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to enforce the long-standing disparate impact doctrine. We are pleased to have a regulator who takes seriously their duty to protect people of color, older Americans, veterans, students and all populations vulnerable against discrimination in every form of lending," said Taylor.
CFPB has issued a compliance bulletin declaring the Bureau's intention to recognize disparate impact in its enforcement of the Equal Credit Opportunity act. Disparate impact occurs when a lender's practices or policies are facially neutral but have discriminatory effects.
Today marks the first day of NCRC's annual conference. This year's conference "Not Just an Economy, a Just Economy" focuses on equitable solutions to the foreclosure crisis, consumer financial protection, and new threats to fair access to capital and credit.
Featured speakers at this year's conference include: Richard Cordray, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Shaun Donovan, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Franklin Raines, former Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO, Joseph Smith, former North Carolina Banking Commissioner, and Eugene Ludwig, Founder and CEO of Promontory Financial Group. Get the full conference schedule.
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Capital One Denied Homeowner Access to Help for Unemployed Homeowners and HAMP
Washington, DC -- The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) today announced that is has filed a complaint with the District of Columbia Government Office of Human Rights and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleging that Capital One has violated local and federal fair housing laws by denying an unemployed homeowner access to a program for unemployed homeowners, as well as a federal mortgage modification program.
“Where there is smoke, there is often fire. Our complaint must be fully investigated to determine if Capital One has routinely denied borrowers the best assistance available to them. Capital One’s failure to participate in mortgage modification programs is cause for serious concern. The regulators should not allow Capital One to take over ING Direct’s $41 billion mortgage portfolio without a demonstration that they are in compliance with the law, and will act to ensure customers have access to the best loan modifications,” said John Taylor, president & CEO of NCRC.
The case concerns Ms. Cembrye Ross, an attorney in the Washington, DC area, who sought help from Capital One for her mortgage when she became unemployed. Capital One did not offer Ms. Ross a sustainable modification, even though she would have qualified for help under both the DC HomeSaver Program, which helps unemployed homeowners, and the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. Capital One, which was not participating in either program, instead steered Ms. Ross to a proprietary modification that was not affordable to her. Following the filing of the complaint, NCRC was able to stay the foreclosure that Ms. Ross faced.
As part of NCRC's mission to end discrimination and to increase fair and equal access to credit and capital for underserved communities, NCRC's National Neighbors program conducts fair housing testing and investigation for government agencies, municipalities and other interested organizations.
Fair Housing Organization Initiative
Through the Fair Housing Initiative Program under a Fair Housing Organization Initiative grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) will conduct fair lending investigative activities to identify and combat abusive foreclosure prevention scams in major metropolitan areas throughout the United States. This 12-month project aims to support local enforcement of fair housing and fair lending laws, build the capacity and effectiveness of non-profit fair housing organizations, and aid consumers who have been victimized by foreclosure prevention provider scams.
Though the project is national in scope, it will include targeted outreach in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) that
(1) are largely, historically segregated;
(2) have been hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis; and
(3) have minority populations that have experienced disparate levels of subprime lending
NCRC will work with local partners to review consumer documents, and identify problematic foreclosure prevention providers. Additionally, through training and collaboration, NCRC will increase the capacity of participating organizations so that they may better address systemic discrimination and consumer protections violations beyond the grant term.
Private Enforcement Initiative
Through a FHIP Private Enforcement Initiative grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) will address systemic discrimination in mortgage lending and loan servicing. This is a 12-month project that aims to assist with the enforcement of fair housing and fair lending laws and aid distressed consumers who are facing problematic loans due to the illegal actions of lenders and servicers.
Though the project is national in scope, it will include targeted outreach in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) that
(1) are largely, historically segregated;
(2) have been hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis; and
(3) have minority populations that have experienced disparate levels of subprime lending
NCRC will work with local partners in MSAs to assist in loan document review, and to identify problematic loans, servicers, and loan originators. Additionally, through training and collaboration, NCRC will increase the capacity of local fair lending and housing counseling agencies so that they can better address the issue of systemic discrimination in mortgage lending and loan servicing beyond the grant term.
If you have any questions or would like to contact our National Neighbors' team, you can contact NCRC via Contact Us or at 800-475-NCRC (6272).
Washington, DC -- The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) has filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Adrian Cronauer and the Cronauer Law Center. Mr. Cronauer, who is best known as the radio disc jockey who inspired Robin Williams' character in the film Good Morning Vietnam, now runs Cronauer Law Center, a Washington, D.C. based law firm. NCRC's complaints allege that Mr. Cronauer and Cronauer Law Center have intentionally misled consumers through misrepresentations and deceptive and fraudulent loan modification and foreclosure prevention practices.
NCRC President and CEO John Taylor made the following statement:
"Scammers who cause injury to homeowners under the guise of offering assistance must not be tolerated. The rules apply to celebrities as well. We believe Mr. Cronauer and the Cronauer Law Center to be in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Mortgage Assistance Relief Act rules, and other state and federal laws. We look forward to regulators reviewing our complaints and investigating this important matter further."
"The unfortunate reality is that law firms are culprits in a growing number of mortgage scams. In addition to legal action, we're calling on the American Bar Association to police its members," said Taylor.
Homeowners who are at risk for foreclosure should contact HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, which do not charge for foreclosure counseling. NCRC's HUD-approved Housing Counseling Network can be reached at 1-800-475-NCRC.
NCRC's full complaints are available here.
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This week, NCRC filed comments to the US Department of Treasury and US Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the future of the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs), the regulation of the housing finance system, and the role of government in the finance system.
Click here to download the Comments as a PDF
Washington, DC -- Today, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) applauded the passage of responsible banking ordinances in New York City and Los Angeles, and commended the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), an NCRC member organization, and Los Angeles City Councilmember Richard Alarcón for their efforts advancing the initiatives.
“This is a beacon of things to come,” said NCRC President and CEO John Taylor. “Local governments are becoming empowered to hold banks accountable to investing in our communities in a responsible way. In effect they are saying if you want to do business with our city, you have to play fair. We expect this trend will grow and continue in cities and localities across the nation.”
“We congratulate the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development in New York, and City Councilmember Richard Alarcón in Los Angeles for this accomplishment. Their hard work played a key role in making these responsible banking ordinances happen.”
NCRC has been a leader in organizing local advocates to advance responsible banking ordinances. In 2010, NCRC released a model city ordinance to create community reinvestment requirements for depository institutions. The model ordinance is designed to increase the amount of responsible loans, investments, and financial services in minority and low- and moderate-income communities through heightened public accountability to municipalities and their residents.
In San Diego, City Council President Tony Young plans to introduce a responsible banking ordinance to the Council’s Rules Committee tomorrow.
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Washington, DC -- John Taylor, President & CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, released this statement today about the Republican proposal to raise the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) minimum loan down payment to five percent. The proposal will be discussed at a House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing today. NCRC opposes an increase in the FHA down payment. It also opposes increases in credit score requirements for FHA loans, which many banks have instituted in violation of agency guidelines. NCRC has filed 23 complaints against lenders with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for credit score violations, and has challenged.
"Raising the FHA down payment does not provide any benefit to taxpayers; it only punishes first-time homebuyers and working class families. Unlike the banks and Wall Street, FHA never had to be bailed out by the taxpayers. FHA is serving its original purposes of providing credit during countercyclical times, with a primary mission to serve people of modest means. Over time, the private market will recover its market share as the economy improves. Congress shouldn't meddle with an agency that has performed its role well since the Great Depression.
"Before Wall Street colluded to drive up their profits and compensation on the backs of everyday Americans, the housing mortgage system worked for first-time homebuyers and working class people. It can work again if we provide safe and sound housing products and if regulators do their jobs. Raising down payments – as well as minimum credit score requirements -- is a punitive solution for a problem that doesn't exist."
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The Foreclosure Crisis and Its Impact on Communities of Color: Research and Solutions
Washington, DC -- As the foreclosure crisis continues unabated, destroying wealth for American families and undermining the stability and vibrancy of communities, NCRC’s recent whitepaper serves as an in-depth investigation of the success and weaknesses of the major federal and private foreclosure prevention efforts. The paper also examines proposed solutions to rebuild the homeownership markets. The paper has a particular focus on the impacts of the foreclosure crisis on people and communities of color.
The report addresses three critical aspects of the foreclosure crisis:
First, the foreclosure crisis is disproportionally affecting communities of color, and continuing without any meaningful preventative intervention. The homeownership rates for communities of color are at their lowest levels in over a decade. It is expected these rates will drop even further, which would wipe out over 15 years of gains in homeownership rates for people of color. The combination of foreclosures and falling home prices has also resulted in a catastrophic loss of wealth, in particular for people and communities of color.
Second, there are several strategies and solutions that could significantly halt the foreclosure crisis, as well as repair the damage, but no policies are actively being debated by policy makers. There are no signs that the HAMP program will be significantly improved to have a greater foreclosure prevention impact and, given the current political climate, it seems unlikely that any additional funds for new foreclosure mitigation efforts will be forthcoming. Finally, many proposals to rebuild the homeownership market would actually further undermine the housing markets.
Third, there is no national clearinghouse of information on foreclosures that is systematic, searchable, and comprehensive. A comprehensive clearinghouse of data and research would enable more effective responses to the damage that is occurring to families and communities by the foreclosure crisis. Without a central hub of information, it is also difficult to understand the long-term damage the foreclosure crisis will likely have across cities and communities.
