Fewer Credit Unions and No Mortgage Companies Receive Top Grade

In 2011, about one-fifth of Massachusetts banks received an "Outstanding" rating on their Community Reinvestment Act evaluations from federal and state regulators, according to a report issued today by the Dorchester-based Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA). This percentage is in the same general range as the three preceding years but it remains dramatically lower than during the 2005-2007 period when over one-third of all CRA ratings were "Outstanding."

The report was prepared for MAHA by Jim Campen, Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Boston.

MAHA's twenty-first annual report lists the CRA ratings assessed to all Massachusetts banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies and evaluates the performance of the four federal regulators and the Massachusetts Division of Banks in reviewing bank performance in meeting community needs. The report finds that only 6 of 87 (or 6.9%) state-chartered credit unions in Massachusetts have an "Outstanding" CRA rating.

In its eighteenth annual report on mortgage lending patterns, the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC) confirms a major shift in the mortgages provided to Massachusetts homebuyers. In the wake of the implosion of the subprime mortgage industry, high-cost subprime lending has almost disappeared, while government-backed lending has grown dramatically.

Changing Patterns XVIII: Mortgage Lending to Traditionally Underserved Borrowers & Neighborhoods in Boston, Greater Boston and Massachusetts, 2010, provides analyses of lending patterns in the city of Boston, Greater Boston and Massachusetts in 2010, as well as for each of its thirty-three largest cities and towns. The report was prepared for MCBC by Jim Campen, professor emeritus of economics at UMass Boston and longtime MAHA board member. Click here for the full report.