This article presents a number of key findings from a review of the data that mortgage lending institutions reported for 2011 under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). The article documents home-lending activity reflected in the HMDA data and places the 2011 activity in historical context....

Consumer Credit and the American Economy examines the economics, behavioral science, sociology, history, institutions, law, and regulation of consumer credit in the United States. After discussing the origins and various kinds of consumer credit available in today's marketplace, this book...

This book is a guide to the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of disclosures as consumer protections in financial transactions such as loans, deposits, and consumer leases. It focuses on the federal Truth in Lending Act but also covers a variety of other federal disclosure statutes designed to...

Under the Truth in Lending Act, the Federal Reserve has the responsibility for writing the implementing rules, which it has carried out with its Regulation Z. Because this law is so critical for federal consumer protection policy in the credit area and because it imposes significant compliance...

The equity that has accumulated in homes is one of the largest components of U.S. household wealth. In recent years, many homeowners have borrowed large amounts against that equity, frequently to finance new consumption expenditures or pay down outstanding consumer debt. In view of the growing...

From modest origins in the 1950s as a convenient way for the relatively well-to-do to settle restaurant and department store purchases without carrying cash, credit cards have become a ubiquitous financial product held by households in all economic strata. Since the late 1960s, much federal...

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-8, April 2005) made significant changes to procedures for managing consumer bankruptcy petitions, but it also included amendments to the Truth in Lending Act. Notable among the Truth in Lending changes is a...

The paper explores the long-term income elasticity of consumer and mortgage credit growth since World War II. It also examines other economic factors, to determine whether recent credit use is anomalous. Two-stage least squares show consumer credit income elasticity to be slightly below 1.0,...