Small Consumer Loans, Small Business Financing, Ex-Offenders, and Older People

Posted by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on March 21, 2016

Focus: Small Consumer Loans, Small Business Financing, Ex-Offenders, and Older People.

In this issue, learn about small consumer loans made by community development lenders, a new landscape of small business lending by online lenders and banks, a partnership to assist ex-offenders, and housing costs of older people.

Capital for Communities: CDFIs Innovate on Small Consumer Loans

Learn how community development financial institutions are offering small-dollar alternatives to payday lenders and helping borrowers build credit.

Online Lenders Disrupt Small Business Lending

Understand the rapid growth of online lending to small businesses and trends in bank small business lending. Emerging partnerships between online lenders and banks are noted.

Bank Partnership Helps Ex-Offenders

Read about an unusual partnership between a bank, a community college, and a health-care system to assist ex-offenders to re-enter communities in Pennsylvania.

Spotlight on Research: Down Payment Assistance Plays Critical Role in Affordable Homeownership

A recent study shows that while down payments give borrowers incentive not to default on mortgages, down payment assistance did not make a substantive difference in the performance of affordable loans.

Low-Income Older Adults Face High Housing Costs and Financial Challenges

This analysis shows that older low-income homeowners and renters spend a high percentage of their income on housing. They spend more on housing than on health care.

Mapping Our Community: Older Adult Population Projected to Grow by Two-Thirds by 2030

Older adults will represent a 22 percent share of the population in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware in 2030. See where the growth will be greatest.

Small Businesses Report Better Financing Outcomes

See findings of a 2015 survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and six other Reserve Banks. Small businesses in 26 states participated in the survey.

What It’s Worth Reveals New Understanding of Financial Health and Well-Being

This new book contains 30 essays with a range of perspectives on financial challenges faced by U.S. households.

https://philadelphiafed.org/community-development/publications/cascade/