The period 2004-2005 showed a significant increase in Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) rate spread reporting. Following the Oaxaca (1973), Blinder (1973), and Fairlie (2005) decomposition techniques, this study identifies the fraction of the increase due to the flattening of the yield curve....

Checking accounts with an overdraft protection line of credit can be seen as the first steps in accessing credit for some households, specifically for Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) borrowers. In this paper, we assess a lender's decision to grant LMI consumers an overdraft protection line of...

We study the effect of gender in a new financial behavior context: the choice of a mortgage. While adjustable rate mortgages are initially cheaper, they expose the borrower to interest rate risk. Using national lender data, we find that propensity to apply for an adjustable rate mortgage among...