Financial Services and Education Project

Is the OTS Obsolete? (U.S. Banker, subscription only)

. . . "The system has worked well enough," says Ellen Seidman, who ran the Office of Thrift Supervision under President Clinton and now directs the New America Foundation's Financial Services and Education Project in Washington, D.C. "It's a case of 'If it isn't broke, don't fix it.' Though it's entirely reasonable that people are raising these questions now, it's not great for morale." Abolishing the OTS would only raise… more

What if there’s a way to bring prepaid products to millions of new consumers, with the help of the federal government?

I think there is. By leveraging billions of dollars in annual tax refunds, there’s the potential to deliver a prepaid product that benefits consumers, industry and the government alike. Called the Assets and Transaction Account, or ATA for short, it’s envisioned as a network branded prepaid account that would be delivered through the tax filing process and loaded with tax… more

In 1977, concerned about the denial of credit to lower income communities—both minority and white—Congress enacted the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). CRA states that “regulated financial institutions have [a] continuing and affirmative obligation to help meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered.” The statute goes on to require that federal bank regulators both “assess the institution’s record of meeting the credit needs of its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent… more

In support of state-wide efforts to bring more Californians into the financial mainstream, the State of California could deliver a pre-paid account through the state’s tax filing process. The Assets and Transaction Account, or ATA, would expedite tax filers’ access to their tax refunds and serve as a safe, affordable, and convenient financial tool for lower-income Californians to conduct routine financial transactions and build saving throughout the year.

The state tax filing process presents a unique opportunity… more

"One in seven families is dealing with a debt collector," Ray Boshara and Phillip Longman of the New America Foundation think tank wrote in a Washington Post commentary. "Children today are more likely to live through their parents' bankruptcy than their parents' divorce," they wrote. And that likelihood will increase this year. ...

Assessing Obama's Bank-Issue 'Blank Slate' (American Banker) "When you start campaigning in places like Florida and California, where these issues are front and center, you will hear more about it," said Ellen Seidman, who ran the Office of Thrift Supervision under President Clinton and now directs the New America Foundation's Financial Services and Education Project. ...

What a year! But Chicago rolls with the punches. (Chicago Sun-Times) "If you go back a year ago and look at the stories, and look at what the lending community was doing, [the problems do] tend to unfold more slowly in places like Chicago that are more stable," said Ellen Seidman, executive vice president at ShoreBank Corp. and the director of the Financial Services and Education Project at the New America Foundation. ...

With foreclosures reaching record levels and predictions for further trouble ahead, the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday unanimously approved potentially sweeping changes to how mortgages are marketed, made, and serviced, especially in the nonprime market. Will the Fed be able to meet its goal of a "comprehensive set of protections to consumers" when the comments come flying?

The proposed revisions to regulations under the Truth in Lending Act are designed to realign relationships in the mortgage business, so borrower and lender… more

Washington's leaders have been pushing many policy buttons to stem the worsening housing and credit crisis. They've yet to find the off button, however, and that's prompting a search for more-aggressive solutions.

This week's decision by Citigroup Inc. to bail out seven investment entities and bring $49 billion in assets onto its balance sheet effectively killed one of the centerpieces of the Bush administration's approach. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has pushed a giant rescue plan for off-the-books funds saddled with mortgage-backed… more