Other Reports

The following report is of interest to the MCBC community, but not published by MCBC.

The Massachusetts Fair Lending Task Force was established in 2005 to promote and ensure fair and equitable mortgage lending to all individuals.  Its members included representatives from the Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA), the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC), the Massachusetts Credit Union League (MCUL), the Massachusetts Mortgage Association (MMA), the Massachusetts Mortgage Bankers Association (MMBA), state and federal regulatory agencies and community-based organizations.  The Task Force began its work by conducting a survey of Massachusetts lenders to gauge industry fair lending procedures, including effective models and best practices.  In late 2005, the Task Force hosted five regional meetings across the state to solicit broad-based industry and community input.  Over 175 individuals, representing local mortgage lenders, homebuyer counseling organizations, housing and community development organizations, housing advocates, regional planning groups, community development agencies and others attended those meetings.  Throughout this period, the Task Force also met regularly to review statistical data and to collect and consider information from its members and others that could provide helpful background information or suggest useful strategies and recommendations.  The final Massachusetts Fair Lending Task Force Report & Recommendations were presented at a Fair Lending Summit in October, 2006.  Following the summit meeting, a successor organization, the Massachusetts Fair Lending Coordinating Committee, was established to plan, oversee and manage promotion of the Task Force’s recommendations. 

As part of its effort to promote implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations, The Coordinating Committee commissioned a series of “best practices” reports, covering second look procedures, self-testing and oversight of mortgage brokers.  Assembled into a single report, its purpose is to assist banks, credit unions, independent mortgage companies, and mortgage brokers seeking to establish review, testing and oversight procedures for the first time, or to expand and improve their existing practices.  The report includes: 

• Section 2 briefly describes the changes that have reshaped the mortgage market over the past fifteen years, explaining why the first generation of fair lending” best practices” have not had the intended result.
• Section 3,4 and 5 addresses the three specific topics – second look procedures, matched pair testing and mortgage broker oversight – and describes strategies and activities that are accepted, or emerging, best practices.  Also included are examples of lender initiatives, guidance for establishing such programs, and associated pitfalls.
• Section 6 describes why it is essential that these three initiatives be part of a comprehensive fair lending strategy.

The Boston Alliance for Economic Inclusion (BAEI) is a public-private partnership whose mission is to enhance the economic well-being of the unbanked/underserved in metropolitan Boston by improving their access to the U.S. banking system, developing and marketing more responsive and affordable financial products and services, promoting financial education, and addressing technical or regulatory issues surrounding these developments. The BAEI Toolbox Report is a compilation of information and effective practices that have helped financial institutions locally and in other areas develop comprehensive programs to respond to the emerging unbanked/underserved market.

This report is intended to share the findings of the Task Force’s work and to provide recommendations to banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, community-based organizations, public officials and others on steps that they, individually and in partnership with others, can take to increase lending to minority group members while ensuring that all homebuyers have equal access to credit.