In October 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago hosted a U.S. Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) conference, which brought together over 150 representatives from states, territories and the District of Columbia, to discuss best practices in the...

In October 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Michigan Bankers Association and the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan co-sponsored a symposium in Detroit that brought together business experts, business owners, policymakers, funders and bankers to explore issues around...

The Community Development and Policy Studies (CDPS) division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago distributed a poll to small business intermediaries in the fourth quarter of 2012 to ask about their perceptions of small business conditions in their neighborhoods. The purpose of this poll was...

While economic worries, including high unemployment and high rates of foreclosure, persist in America, one indicator that receives relatively little media attention is household bankruptcy. While bankruptcy, particularly Chapter 7 bankruptcy, offers a fresh financial start to the petitioner,...

For decades, nonprofit housing and consumer-focused organizations have worked in low- and moderate-income (LMI) areas to address improvident mortgage lending practices that have led to high rates of vacancy and unstable neighborhoods. Questionable lending is not a new problem in LMI areas, in...

Nationwide in the U.S. over the past 15 years, small businesses generated 64 percent of the net new job growth. Small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, a definition used by the Small Business Administration (SBA), represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms, and employ more than half of...

A roundtable, co-sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), was held on July 9, 2012, to analyze and discuss World Business Chicago’s Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs1 (the Plan)....

In October 2011, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Community Development and Policy Studies division co-sponsored a two-day conference that explored and discussed policies that speed, strengthen, and enhance economic development in Wisconsin’s rural areas to increase their...

The National Community Investment Fund (NCIF) held its Annual Development Banking Conference on November 2 and 3, 2011, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The conference brought together 160 CEOs, investors, regulators, and other stakeholders from the Community Development Financial...

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operations. The CRA performance impacts banks and the...