OFN has just published a report that looks at how opportunity finance is responding to the foreclosure crisis. "Predatory Mortgage Lending and the Current Foreclosure Crisis: Market Challenges and Opportunity Finance Responses” provides a background on opportunity finance and successful subprime lending, the rise of predatory mortgage lending, and the current subprime fallout. The paper focuses on strategies that individual CDFIs are using to prevent foreclosures and to mitigate the negative impact of high foreclosure rates. Seven umbrella strategies are discussed and highlighted though 21 case studies that examine product and service development, challenges, and results.

New CDFI Data Project Report Released

The CDFI Data Project (CDP), an industry collaborative managed by Opportunity Finance Network, has released a new version of the popular publication Community Development Financial Institutions: Providing Capital, Building Communities, Creating Impact that analyzes fiscal year (FY) 2006 data from 505 CDFIs. In 2006, CDFIs in this study invested $4.75 billion in FY 2006 had a net charge-off ratio of 0.46%, which compares favorably to the net charge-off ratio of 0.39% for all FDIC insured financial institutions. The new FY 2006 version is the sixth edition of this important publication and is available as an electronic download only.

The Midwest Regional meeting was held on June 3rd in Chicago. The fifty attendees engaged in discussions on green finance, the housing situation, and more. To read more about this meeting, click here. To read about the April 30th Western Regional Meeting, click here.