Situation Argentina
Published by Servicio de Estudios Económicos del BBVA
Language: Spanish
Language: Spanish
Added on 07 July 2010
Other Publications
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Can the Danish mortgage model fix U.S. housing finance?
Published by Housingwire Magazine
Added on 15 June 2010 -
Cities for all: Proposals and Experiences towards the Right to the City
Published by Habitat International Coalition (HIC)
Added on 18 May 2010 -
Supply side study of financial inclusion in Malawi
Published by Oxford Policy Management and Kadale ConsultantsAdded on 15 May 2010 -
Financial Integration in Europe
Published by the European Central Bank
Added on 15 April 2010 -
Green Building – a Niche becomes Mainstream
Published by Deutsche Bank Research
Added on 12 April 2010 -
Housing Bubbles in Japan and the United States
Published by Policy Research Institute, Ministry of Finance, Japan
Added on 17 March 2010 -
The Aftermath of the Crisis: Policy Lessons and Challenges Ahead for Latin America and the Caribbean
Published by the Inter-American Development Bank
Added on 14 March 2010 -
Research report on Danish Mortgage Covered Bonds
Published by Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
Added on 05 March 2010 -
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Euro Area Commercial Property Markets and their Impact on Banks
Published by the European Central Bank, Monthly BulletinAdded on 01 February 2010 -
A comparison between the recent housing cycles in Spain, United States and United Kingdom
Added on 15 January 2010 -
Home finance and macroeconomics
Published by the Bank of Spain, Monthly Bulletin
Language: SpanishAdded on 15 December 2009 -
Banking Conduct of Business Sourcebook - industry guidance
Added on 11 December 2009 -
Situation Chile
Added on 20 November 2009 -
Housing Market Heterogeneity in a Monetary Union
Published by the Bank of Spain, Working Paper
Added on 21 August 2009 -
Outlook Africa: Investing in Africa's Growth and Health
Added on 01 August 2009 -
Housing Finance in the Euro Area
Published by the European Central Bank, Monthly Bulletin
Added on 01 August 2009 -
Housing Finance in the Euro Area
Published by the European Central Bank, Structural Issues Report
Added on 01 March 2009 -
Building Houses: Improvement of the neighbourhoods and the quality of urban life
Published by: Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID)
Language: Spanish
Read moreAdded on 01 January 2009 -
Recent trends in Japan's real estate market
Published by Mihuzo Research Institute
Added on 10 November 2008 -
Housing for All: The Challenges of Affordability,Accessibility and Sustainability
Published by UN HABITATAdded on 01 July 2008 -
How has Japan Housing Finance Agency’s Flat 35 affected regional housing loan markets?
Published by Government Auditing Review
Added on 08 March 2008 -
IUHF Newsletter - February 2008
Added on 20 February 2008 -
Housing Finance System in India and China - An Exploratory Investigation
Published by Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Added on 26 December 2007 -
Housing finance agencies in Asia
Published by Bank for International Settlements
Added on 17 December 2007 -
IUHF Newsletter - October 2007
Added on 14 October 2007 -
IUHF Newsletter - June 2007
Added on 22 June 2007 -
The housing industry in Ghana: Prospects and Challenges
Published by the Bank of Ghana
Added on 09 June 2007 -
IUHF Newsletter - December 2006 - 'World Congress Special'
Added on 30 December 2006 -
The role of government-supported housing finance agencies in Asia
Published by BIS Quarterly Review
Added on 11 December 2006 -
IUHF Newsletter - August 2006
Added on 01 September 2006 -
ECHMB - Ten (10) Years of Commercial Operations
On 24 April 2006, the Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank (ECHMB) held an in-house ceremony to mark the beginning of a series of activities to commemorate ten (10) years as a commercial entity. On April 22, 1996, ECHMB opened its doors for business in the mortgage industry of the Eastern Caribbean region, focused on providing an alternative source of funding for mortgages. Ten (10) years later, based on its constantly improving financial performance and its interventions in the mortgage market for the benefit of homeowners, ECHMB has deservedly earned its place as 'A Regional Business Success Story'.Added on 25 July 2006 -
IUHF Newsletter - May 2006
Added on 01 June 2006 -
Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank - 2005 Annual Report
For the year ended March 31, 2006 ECHMB reported Net Income amounting to $2,251,672, a marginal decrease of 5.7% from the previous year. Earnings Per Share reached $22.51 compared with $23.87 at the year ended March 31, 2005. The strength of the financial results is indicative of the institution's continued growth despite the declining yield in mortgages, the depletion in the portfolio due to refi nancing, and the increasing competitive pressures in the mortgage industry. The mortgage market is very often subject to forces beyond its control. And this year ECHMB's performance is a refl ection of how external conditions have some what shifted ECHMB's business prospects.Added on 30 December 2005 -
IUHF Newsletter - December 2005
Added on 30 December 2005 -
Egypt - The Guarantee and Subsidy Fund
Published by Chemonics International Inc.
Added on 15 December 2005 -
IUHF Newsletter - August 2005
Added on 26 October 2005 -
IUHF Newsletter - March 2005
Added on 21 September 2005 -
Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank - 2004 Annual Report
We are honoured for the opportunity to present the Annual Report of Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank (ECHMB) with the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2005.Added on 30 December 2004 -
The Chinese Housing Provident Fund
Published by the Belk College of Business Administration, the University of North Carolina
Added on 11 August 2004 -
History of Housing Finance and Policy in Spain
Added on 01 May 2004 -
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Price-setting and Price Dispersion in the Dutch Mortgage Market
We analyse empirically price-setting in the Dutch mortgage market, using information on about 124,000 Dutch households and 54 mortgage lenders over the years 1996-2001. For a narrowly defined set of mortgages (which have a fixed lending rate for ten years), the range of the lending rate between lenders varies between 0.86 and 1.24 percentage points over these years. Prices remain dispersed across lenders, even after controlling for the characteristics of the household and the municipality (I percentage point). We find that the price dispersion of mortgages sold by banks is smaller than that of mortgages sold by life insurers (0.60 versus 1.28 percentage points). This difference may be due to lower agency costs for banks than for life insurers. Another likely explanation is that the market segment for banks is more transparent than that of insurance companies. This may imply that there is imperfect competition among lenders, so that some of them can develop market power.Added on 01 August 2003 -
Report on the Performance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) for the Period Under Review
Microfinance was pioneered in the developing world as the lending of small amounts of money to entrepreneurs who lacked the kinds of credentials and collateral demanded by banks. Microfinance as known today is defined as provision of financial services to low income clients including the self employed.Added on 01 July 2003 -
Preview of Housing Finance Systems in Four Different African Countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania
This article mainly focuses on the overview of the African housing finance systems. The aim of the paper is to provide a preview of housing finance systems in four different African countries; to reveal the generic nature and scope of housing finance in these respective states.As it is known, shelter is one of the basic needs of human survival in addition to food and clothing. For any developing country, the provision of shelter is of paramount importance to low and moderate- income households. Ferguson (2000) notes that surveys of low-income households in developing countries typically show that housing has a higher priority than education and healthcare. However, finance for housing has received very little attention over the years
Added on 01 June 2003 -
Understanding the Reasons to the Causes of Defaults in the Social Housing Sector of South Africa
This paper is based primarily on the findings of a study carried out by the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) in the first quarter of 2003. The article sheds the light about the nature and scope of the underlying reasons to the causes of defaults by tenants in the South African social housing market.The considered methodology for this particular study was to conduct tenant survey through primary research (use of detailed questionnaire) across all 5 (five) provinces (Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Free State and Kwazulu Natal) covering eleven (11) institutions. A field study carried out on a face-to-face questionnaire interview of the tenants in the selected housing institutions in each of the five provinces. Seven hundred and thirty four (734) heads of the households were interviewed throughout the ten (10) institutions. Of those surveyed, 263(36%) were males, and 471 (64%) were females and most of the household heads interviewed were females.
Added on 01 June 2003 -
Australian Housing Market: Statistical Update - June 2003
The estimated number of loans made to first buyers in 2002-03 was 99 600. This is below the average for the II years to 2001-02 of 107 800, and well down on the high preceding annual totals-142 300 in 2001-02 and 127 100 in 2000-01. The proportion of lending going to first home buyers has slipped from 25% in the second half of2001 to under 14% in June 2003. This is a third lower than the long-term average of just over 20%.The buoyant lending to first buyers in 2001-02 reflected a number of actors, including the First Home Owner Grant.
Added on 01 June 2003 -
Risks and Opportunities: an Assessment of Housing Finance in Venezuela
The word ?crisis? has become all too familiar to the people of Venezuela. Since the early 1990's, this country of 24 million residents has been locked in political and economic turmoil. One crisis after another has kept the national agenda preoccupied with fundamental political reforms and macroeconomic stabilization, and inattentive to the growing social concerns rising from the urban barrios. Rapid urbanization has brought 90% of the country to live in urban areas. The resulting high levels of poverty, unemployment, overcrowding, and inadequate housing has put the country's ability to fulfill its national commitment to housing to the test. It is the purpose of this paper to assess the housing finance system in Venezuela, analyze the way in which government policies meet, or fail to meet, the country's need for affordable housing, and finally to prescribe alternative policies or initiatives which may better serve the intended purpose of housing provision.Added on 17 May 2003 -
Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank - 2003 Annual Report
The Directors are pleased to present the Annual Report of Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank (ECHMB) with the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended March 31, 2003. These Financial Statements report of a landmark achievement by the Bank in reaching $106.6 million in Total Assets. ECHMB has been performing a pivotal role in financing mortgages and facilitating home ownership in the Eastern Caribbean.Added on 01 April 2003 -
2002 Annual Report of The Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Ordinarily, the introduction to this annual report is prepared by the immediate past Chairman. However, this year, I am filling this slot in place of Andrew Pople, who left his position as Managing Director, Retail, Abbey National pIc and CML Chairman in December, just before the end of his year in office. May I first give my thanks to Andrew, to the Deputy Chairmen Tony Ward and Keith Greenough, and to the whole of our Executive Committee, for their help and support for me and the rest of the staff.Added on 30 December 2002 -
2002 Annual Report of The Association of German Mortgage Banks.
The Association of German Mortgage Banks (VDH) comprises 19 private German mortgage banks. The mortgage banks are among the most important providers of capital for residential and commercial property as well as of loans to the public sector, i.e. the federal government, the federal states and the local authorities.Added on 30 December 2002 -
New Housing Delivery Model: Presidential Job Summit
Since the 1994 democratic election, labour has been consistently challenging government on its macroeconomic policy, which it argues has resulted in dramatic job shedding due to the restructuring of the economy. Labour used this worsening situation to urge government to participate in a Job Summit at the end of 1998 in order to formulate strategies for job creation.One of the demands set down by labour during the negotiations was to revisit the country's housing policy. The housing policy, as implemented since its inception in 1994, has mainly focused on the delivery of progressive housing for ownership. Unhappy with both the standard provided - a 250 sq metre site, and a +20 sq metre house - and the form of tenure, i.e. ownership, labour used the Job Summit opportunity to put a demand for social (i.e. rental) housing on the table.
Added on 01 December 2002 -
Irish Mortgage and Savings Association Annual Review 2001/2002
2001 was considered by many to be a turning point in the economic cycle. The threat of foot and mouth disease in the early part of the year, followed by the downturn in the IT sector and the events in the US of 11 September and the subsequent uncertainty on both the political and economic stage have all had their impact on the Irish economy, housing market and in turn mortgage lending.Added on 01 December 2002 -
Dutch Guarantee Fund for Homeownership
Lecture held by Karel Schiffer, CEO of the Mortgage Guarantee Fund for Homeownership in the Netherlands It is an honour and a pleasure for me to inform you today about the mortgage guarantee system in the Netherlands. In the spirit of the conference, I will consider this system in the context of the European Union.Added on 24 September 2002 -
Key Facts on the Australian Financial System
Added on 30 August 2002 -
Australian Housing Market: Statistical Update - June 2002
In 2001-02 an estimated 141,800 loans were made to first home buyers. This is well above previous highs and the 10-year annualised average of 107,000. Lending has however been moving downwards over recent months.Impetus to this lending was given by the First Home Owner Grant. A grant of $14,000 was available for buyers of new homes up to 31 December 2001. Between 1 January and 30 June 2002 the grant was $10,000. The amount of the grant has now reverted to $7,000. Expressed as a proportion of total households that recorded an explicit tenure, the 2001 Census shows a home ownership rate of70.6%, compared with 69.8% in 1996. Outright ownership fell from 42.8% in 1996 to 42.2% while purchasing rose from 26.5% to 27.7%. 'Rent/buy' also rose from 0.5% to 0.7%.
Added on 01 June 2002 -
Regulatory Developments in New Zealand
Last year, there were two significant developments in the New Zealand banking industry that specifically affected the way banks are organised in New Zealand and how they deal with their customers.The first was a proposal by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand that foreign banks would operate through locally-incorporated subsidiaries rather than branches; and the second was the New Zealand Bankers' Association statement of principles on how banks should deal with small, medium-sized and farming customers.
Added on 01 February 2002 -
Living Conditions of the Elderly - A European Comparison
It is apparent that in virtually all states of Europe there will be more structural shifts in the age structure of the population in the coming years which will be accompanied by a conflict with the so-called generation contract according to which employed younger people provide financially for the retired older ones.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Foundation Mortgage Guarantee Fund for Homeownership in the Netherlands (Stichting Waarborg fonds Eigen Woningen)
The Mortgage Guarantee Fund for Homeownership (MGFH) in the Netherlands is a nonprofit private foundation. This foundation is established in 1994 as successor of the municipality guarantee with a backing support of the central government.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Mortgage Securitization in Panama: La Hipotecaria
La Hipotecaria S. A. is a full- service mortgage company that operates in the Republic of Panama. Founded in 1997, La Hipotecaria today is one of the leading providers of mortgage funds in middle to lower-middle income market segment and the only company in Central America with an ongoing mortgage-securitization program. The firm administers a portfolio of 2,400 mortgage loans with a total loan balance of just over $50,000,000. The average loan size in the portfolio is approximately $21,000.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Mexican lender issues groundbreaking mortgage-backed bonds
DENVER, Colo., December19, 2001- Hipotecaria Su Casita, one of Mexico's largest SOFOLes, or mortgage banks, announced today that it has completed the sale in Mexico of the first of what it expects to be a series of publicly offered mortgage - backed bonds. Though small by U.S. standards, the 70 million- peso transaction marks the achievement of an important steppingstone in the evolution of the Mexican mortgage industry.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Stretching Systems to Cover Multiple Distribution Channels
Mortgage bankers are in a bind. Technology--particularly technology surrounding the Internet--is breaking down the classic mortgage channel we have spent the past 40 years making so efficient--the one that starts with a face-to-face, lender-borrower application process. Ignoring the new channels means slow and almost certain death. Trying to exploit the new channels without the systems needed to apply product and pricing rules consistently and to structure and identify mortgage loans precisely means being an inefficient player in an efficient market - another prescription for slow, certain death.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Islamic Banking and the Housing Industry
Individuals and families today have many forms of finance options available for the purchase of their house. Traditionally banks have provided the majority of this. This paper outlines the features of banking based on Islamic principles. The paper also outlines the growth of Islamic banks, and the role these play in the area of housing finance. While Islamic banks began in conventional Islamic countries around the Middle East, they have spread to all parts of the world.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Governance versus Government
The Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) was the last in a series of United Nations global conferences in the 1990s. Held in 1996, it was dedicated to shelter and urbanization issues. The conference sought to draw the attention of the world to, among other things, the fact that in the next 25 years the world was expected see at least one billion additional inhabitants. According to the projections, some 85 per cent of these additional people would end up living in the cities of developing countries: the cities least prepared for such growth!Added on 01 December 2001 -
Multi-Lender Mortgage Websites
One of the major innovations spawned by the internet has been the entry of players from outside the mortgage banking industry who offer potential borrowers multiple lenders on one site. While the great majority of mortgage web sites are provided by individual lenders promoting their own products, multi-lender sites deployed by outsiders have an importance out of all proportion to their numbers.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Measuring Success in the ICE age - The Internet Changes Everything
How do you measure success in housing finance? This question deserves special consideration in today's rapidly changing market. A popular characterization of the current technology revolution is the ICE Age - the Internet Changes Everything!Added on 01 December 2001 -
Global Insight: Technology and Competition
Hardly a day goes by in the business press without a new dotcom story. Housing finance is no different The Internet is already having a profound impact on housing finance and it is likely that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. The most visible impact is on how products and services are being delivered to the customer but perhaps the larger and more fundamental impact is on the competitive structure of the housing finance industry.Added on 01 December 2001 -
Housing Finance and the Role of Government Sponsored Housing Institutions in South Africa
This paper provides a snap shot of the capacity of housing finance institutions funded by the South African Government. Its main objective is to assess the impact and contribution that these state-owned enterprises are making in an effort to house the nation. It is a well known fact that main players in the housing finance system in South Africa are the banks, particularly true, the big four banks (Absa, First Rand, Nedcor and Standard Bank). However, there are different role-players who are instrumental and well positioned in facilitating access to credit to the low-and moderate-income households. These include, micro-finance institutions, pension or provident fund administrators, provincial development corporations, NGOs, and to some extent, social housing institutions and some building material suppliers.Added on 01 November 2001 -
The State of Housing Finance in South Africa
This article sheds the light about the nature and scope of problems that impede the housing finance process in South Africa. This paper is based on the findings of a national study commissioned by the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) in the second half of 2000. The principal objective was to investigate obstacles that hinder the delivery of housing at scale to the lower-and -moderate income market in South Africa. The investigation focused mainly on the prospective buyers within the target income group of Rl000-R6000. The methodology adopted for the preliminary investigation was to scan through available documentation and also to capture typical issues that should be further investigated and substantiated with the detailed questionnaire to arrive at a high level organizational and functional structure of the housing delivery system in South Africa. The conclusion is that; almost half of the market feels ill equipped to make informed purchase decisions and large percentage lack information on financial products and that there is a huge demand for housing stock to the lower-end of the market. Recommendations are therefore provided in this regard.Added on 01 July 2001 -
Economics & Social Effects of Housing Finance in Malta
The Maltese Islands cover an area of 315.59 sq. km. Out of this area 69.43 sq. km. is used as a built up area. The rest of the Maltese archipelago is divided in portions such as agricultural fields, green areas, cliffs and other wooded land as those used by the general public for recreational purposes. One has to keep in mind that the built up area of the Maltese Islands from 4.5% or 11 sq. km. in 1957 has risen to 21.97% in 1997, in fact Malta has the largest room volume per person in Europe. From 1957 up to 1985 the number of dwellings increased by 70% as compared to the 10% increase in population, during this period the urbanised area increased by 348% in Malta and 226% in Gozo.Added on 01 June 2001 -
The Open Plan Mortgage
Financial services markets in the United Kingdom are among the largest and most competitive in the world. They have witnessed significant turbulence over the last decade and continue to be shaped by forces of change which together have led to an increasingly competitive environment and further industry consolidation. In order to flourish in highly dynamic markets, financial service providers need to develop and implement strategies and organizational structures that improve their competitive position and allow them to react quickly and with innovation to exploit changing market circumstances.Added on 01 June 2001 -
Falling Credit Standards?
High loan to value (LTV) lending peaked at more than one-quarter of all new loans in the late 1980s - early 1990s. Subsequently, the share progressively declined before levelling-off.Nationally there is little evidence of an increasing proportion of very high income multiple loans, although London does have an especially high proportion. Away from southern parts of the UK, the profile is much more benign.
There has been no obvious decline in credit standards alongside the substantial increase in remortgaging activity of the past few years.
Added on 01 May 2001 -
Building Societies and E-Commerce
What I'm planning to cover in the next 20 minutes is how we as boards and management of societies have responded to what is happening now, and what is going to happen soon in the field of e-commerce.Added on 01 May 2001 -
Illinois Adopts Predatory Lending Regulations
In an effort to curtail predatory lending, the Illinois Office of Banks and Real Estate (OBRE) and the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI') adopted high risk home loan regulations that restrict licensed lenders from engaging in certain predatory lending practices.Added on 01 May 2001 -
Community Banks Increase use of the MPF Program
Chicago, Ill. - Community bankers increasingly are finding the Mortgage Partnership Finance Program an attractive alternative to selling their mortgage loans into the secondary market. MPF participating institutions include small and mid-sized community lenders located in rural, urban and suburban areas, as well as some of the largest national mortgage lenders. Mortgage lenders with assets of less than $500 million accounted for 79% of the Federal Home Loan Bank members which delivered conventional loans to the MPF Program in the first quarter of 2001. MPF funded loans during the quarter from these community financial institutions totaled $218 million, almost eight times the amount of the first quarter of 2000, and about two and a halftimes the previous quarter.Added on 01 April 2001 -
The City of Philadelphia's Predatory Lending Bill
The City of Philadelphia passed a predatory lending ordinance on April 6, 2001 that will take effect 90 days after the mayor signs it. The mayor can sign the bill anytime until April 26, 2001. Any lender or broker making loans within the City of Philadelphia should pay particular attention to this ordinance, as the penalties are draconian.Added on 01 April 2001 -
Mortgage and Asset Servicing for International Transactions
At its most basic, the asset servicer in a securitization is responsible for collecting the funds from obligors and securely distributing them to the appropriate parties. Perhaps because of the apparent simplicity of the function, the servicing role is often taken for granted by both issuers and investors, who often prefer to focus on the performance of the asset pool, the structure of the deal, and the price at which the bonds will be sold. According to the rating agency Standard & Poor's, however, servicing is the most critical element in a transaction, and becomes ever more important as securitization becomes increasingly complex.' S&P cautions investors to carefully analyze the strength and capabilities of the servicer of mortgage and asset-backed securities, and suggests that the quality of the servicing will be an important factor in its own ratings analysis.Added on 01 March 2001 -
The Essential Elements of Financial Sector Stability and Sustainability. The Jamaican Context
FINSAC was established by Government to effect are structuring of the financial sector following a collapse of a number of financial institutions. It is estimated that by 2002 it should complete its work, and divest itself of the assets taken over.Our recent experience in the financial sector has resulted in many commentators and analysts seeking to determine the true causes of our past financial sector instability. A lot has been said on this subject and FINSAC (Financial Sector Adjustment Company of Jamaica) representatives have on many occasions both formally and informally articulated our own point of view. One thing is clear however, and it is that given the economic costs and social fallout of this experience we must endeavor to ensure that it never happens again.
Added on 01 January 2001 -
Mortgage Distribution Channels: Estimates of Lending
Deregulation and technological advancement have contributed to a multi-channel approach. The competitiveness of the mortgage market is helping to make the number and mix of channels an important strategic variable.The average lender has 3 channels, with only 13% of lenders, usually local with small mortgage books, having a single channel.
Over half the number of loans in the first half of 2000 came through branch networks, with 35% being introduced business. Just 0.3% of loans came through lenders' internet channels.
In the first half of 2000, the total value of direct mortgage lending coming through the internet was £198 million, compared with £28 billion through branches and £23 billion through intermediaries.
Added on 01 January 2001 -
Recent Predatory Lending Developments
On August 3,2000, the Massachusetts Division of Banks (the DOB) issued proposed high cost home loan regulations to address and further regulate certain practices identified as predatory lending. As set forth in our September 7, 2000 Mortgage Banking Commentary. the majority of these proposed amendments affect the DOB's regulations implementing Massachusetts' Truth-in-Lending Act (the Massachusetts TILA). The proposed amendments to Section 32.32 of the regulations to the Massachusetts TILA (Massachusetts Section 32) modify and/or add high cost home loan provisions to these regulations. Additionally, to ensure that the proposed high cost home loan protections found in Massachusetts Section 32 apply equally to all high rate mortgage lenders operating in Massachusetts, the DOB also added the Unfair and Deceptive Practices in Consumer Transaction regulations (Part 40) that apply broadly to basically any entity not subject to Massachusetts Section 32 and, in fact, mirror the provisions contained in Massachusetts Section 32. The proposed regulations also amend the DOB's regulations to the Mortgage Lenders and Mortgage Brokers Act (the Mortgage Act). Such amendments provide that it will be a prohibited act or practice for Mortgage Act licensees to (i) make or broker Massachusetts Section 32 high cost mortgage loans that violate Massachusetts Section 32's disclosure requirements, loan limitations, prohibited acts and practices provisions, and unfair high cost loan practice provisions; or (ii) purchase or make a high cost loan originated by a mortgage broker that violates the high cost provisions in Massachusetts Section 32 and (i) above. Mortgage Act licensees that violate such prohibitions risk license suspension or revocation. (The ambiguous language of the amendments to the Mortgage Act raises certain issues that will need to be clarified. The Mortgage Act does not require a license to purchase closed loans. Moreover, the penalty for licensees purchasing loans that violate Massachusetts Section 32 only extends to the purchase of loans originated by a mortgage broker. As a mortgage broker cannot close loans in its name with only a mortgage broker's license, arguably the penalty for licensees purchasing loans from brokers is intended to reach loan packages and not closed loans).Added on 01 January 2001 -
The Importance of Data in International Structured Finance
One of the cornerstones of the development of a securitization market in international and emerging countries is the ability to aggregate, maintain and report reliable data and information about the transaction's collateral. Reliable reporting and transparency of information remain critical to the development of modern financial markets.Added on 01 January 2001 -
Malawi - The New Building Society - Chairman's Report 1999
The year which has just passed has been characterized by high inflation, high interest rates and a weak Malawi Kwacha. During the year we had two major devaluations of the Malawi Kwacha, one in August 1998 and again, shortly thereafter in October, 1998. the exchange rate has moved from MK 15.30 to US $1 at the beginning of the year to MK45 to US$1 a the close of the financial year. The Reserve Bank of Malawi Lending rate has also moved from an average of 24 percent per annum to 47 percent per annum, whilst the annualized inflation has moved from 18.2 percent per annum to 56.0 percent per annum.Added on 01 December 2000 -
Prerequisites for Secondary Market Development
Securitization and secondary mortgage market development are major topics of interest throughout the world. The success of the secondary market in the US has led both private and public sector officials in many countries to recommend its creation as a way of enhancing the flow of funds to housing. However, what is often overlooked in such discussions in the readiness of the primary market. True and sustainable secondary market development cannot proceed unless and until the primary market is able to produce a sufficient volume of high quality mortgages that meet the servicing and performance requirements of investors.Added on 01 December 2000 -
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Divorce, Remarriage and the Housing Market
Added on 01 November 2000 -
Recent Predatory Lending Developments
Status - As reported in our September 7, 2000 Mortgage Banking Commentary. the D.C. Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force introduced the Predatory Lending Protections and Mortgage Foreclosure Improvements Act of 2000, (herein the Predatory Lending Measure) which, if passed, would implement a new foreclosure law and provide new protections for District residents who are the victims of predatory lending. On October 2,2000, the D.C. Committee on Economic Development conducted a public hearing to discuss the proposed legislation, and on November 1,2000 it approved the bill, now entitled the Protections from Predatory Lending and Mortgage Foreclosure Improvements Act of 2000. The bill will be voted upon by the entire D.C. Council on December 5, 2000 and, thus, potentially could become law by the end of the year.Added on 01 November 2000 -
And What Will the Future Bring?
Presentation from the BSA Annual Conference June 2000Added on 01 June 2000 -
Housing Finance In Transitional Economies
More than 80 experts discussed important issues of rousing finance in transition economies on a two-day workshop in Paris on 19-20 June 2000, organized by the OECD. 50 % of the participants came from the OECD member states, including Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, the other half from 10 so-called Target Countries: the Baltic States, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic. They represented various banking institutions and, above all, governments, national banks and supervisory authorities.Added on 01 June 2000 -
Mortgage Lending in Brazil
Long term lending in Brazil has traditionally been very scarce due to the very high inflation rates prevailing until not so long ago. Hence mortgage lending has been restricted to the housing finance loans granted by the Housing Finance System (SFH).These loans have been made possible by monetary correction or adjustment, which was introduced in 1964 to prevent the capital base of such loans and of government issued securities to be eroded by inflation.
The economic stabilization process implemented with the PIano Real, in July 1994, is enabling the development of new sources of financing for the real estate sector, as well as the implementation of a secondary mortgage market in Brazil.
Added on 01 March 2000 -
Information Sharing in Credit Markets: The European Experience
We describe the operation of credit bureaus and public credit registers in Europe and extract potential lessons for upgrading credit registers in other countries. The evidence that we report is based on questionnaires directed to private credit bureaus and central banks, on direct interviews and on official sources. The European experience highlights a set of important issues. First, European privacy protection laws affect greatly the amount and type of information shared between lenders. Second, credit bureaus tend to originate from local lenders. Third, in Europe as elsewhere there are powerful forces pushing towards consolidation of the credit bureaus industry. While this process reflects the natural monopoly feature of the industry, its pace has been accelerated by technological factors and, especially within Europe, by the increasing international integration of capital markets. Three annexes complete the paper, reporting detailed descriptions of private credit bureaus activity in European countries, the main features of European public credit registers, and privacy protection restrictions to the activity of credit bureaus and public credit registers in Europe.Added on 01 March 2000 -
Agencies Propose Privacy Regulations
During the past year, the protection of consumers' financial information has been one of the most significant and controversial issues facing the financial services industry. In November 1999, Congress enacted a comprehensive series of privacy requirements as part of its financial modernization legislation, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. § 6801 et seq.) (the GLB Act or the Act). 1 The Act's privacy provisions have three primary purposes: (i) to require financial institutions to notify consumers of their privacy policies and practices; (ii) to describe the circumstances under which financial institutions may disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties;2 and (iii) to provide a method for consumers to opt out of such disclosures, subject to certain exceptions. The Act directs several federal agencies and other authorities to promulgate regulations implementing its provisions.Added on 01 March 2000 -
Savings Bank Reform in France: The Co-Operative as a Legal Form
The law of 25 June 1999 has subjected France's savings banks to their third reform within a period of sixteen years. This law came into force on 1.1.2000. The willingness to reform shows not only flexibility but rather the need to adapt savings banks to the altered banking environment in the last quarter of the outgoing century.Added on 01 January 2000 -
Housing Finance on the Internet
Housing Finance, is one of the last areas of consumer credit to be affected by the Internet, and indeed by electronic commerce in general. Numerous barriers to true on-line mortgage lending remain in the US, but they are toppling quickly. In Europe and part of Asia however, significant opportunities exist to move much of the lending and processing business to the Internet.Added on 01 January 2000 -
The Evolving Role of Technology in Mortgage Finance
This article surveys the effects of technology on mortgage finance during the 1990 to 2000 period, focusing on the individual firm. Innovations in the three functional areas of origination, servicing, and portfolio management are identified and their effects discussed. Broader questions regarding the effect of increased efficiency on industry structure, consumer welfare, and housing affordability are also considered.Added on 01 January 2000 -
Millennium Challenge
As we enter the new millennium, mortgage lending companies leave behind perhaps the two greatest years in the history of mortgage 1ending-1998 and 1999. During the past two years, mortgage originations skyrocketed to an unprecedented $1.5 trillion in 1998, followed by an equally remarkable $1.3 trillion (estimated) in 1999. Looking forward, the industry is bracing for a cyclical downturn in 2000, which hopefully will be short-lived. Perhaps more telling is that the new millennium promises to present a changing landscape for conducting mortgage lending and servicing activities, prompting companies to meet the challenges of a changing business model.Added on 01 January 2000 -
IUHF - International Housing Finance Sourcebook 2000
The International Housing Finance Sourcebook 2000, edited by Dr. Michael Lea, offers in-depth reports on 66 different countries around the world. It is divided into six regional sections, each of which features special summaries that provide a panorama on regional housing finance development.
The 66 country reports include:
- Economic Background - Overall conditions, interest rates, currency issues, key economic factors, recent reforms, financial system developments, and monetary and fiscal policies.
- Housing Markets - National policies, market size, profile of housing stock, homeownership and construction trends.
- Mortgage Markets - Trends in mortgage activity and debt, mortgage sources and originators, products characteristics, secondary market and securitisation activities, and unique features that form each country's national mortgage system.
- Policy Developments - Present and future prospects for housing finance, government's role in sector development, legal, regulatory and supervisory framework.
- Expanded list of contacts - Up-to-date list of authoritative, in-country sources, designed to help you learn further.
- Sources and references - Ideal for further study and research
Added on 01 January 2000 -
Building Sustainable Cities
A vast number of developing countries are trying to achieve sustainable economic growth and a more equitable distribution of the benefits of growth. In the attainment of these goals, the construction sector can playa major role. Construction accounts for a large share of total capital formation and it is often second only to agriculture as a source of employment. Hence it is important to examine this role and analyse some of the major problems confronting the construction industry in developing countries today, identify factors impeding its growth and suggest measures to be taken to promote sustainable construction in developing countries.Added on 01 December 1999 -
Sustainable Architecture: A Definition
Whilst one could be forgiven for defining sustainable architecture as, buildings that will stay intact for a prolonged period, what we are in fact concerned with is the search for and the promotion of building methods that people can go on using with the skills and resources available to them.Added on 01 December 1999 -
Secondary Mortgage Market Developments, ECHMB - Steady Progress
Amidst significant challenges, the Eastern Caribbean Home Mortgage Bank (ECHMB) has made steady progress in its three years of operation. Indications are that the resources of the traditional primary lenders are becoming increasingly stretched, and alternate-financing sources will be needed. It is hoped that the existing barriers will be broken down gradually, and these institutions will see the wisdom of turning to the ECHMB.Added on 01 November 1999 -
The Retail Dimension: Re-thinking the provision of retail banking services to low-income communities
How do banks carry out low-income lending when they are rapidly losing the capacity to meet with, and talk to, people? This is possibly the most sentinel question facing banks in the developing world today.Added on 01 October 1999 -
The Future of Housing Finance
Added on 01 October 1999 -
Latvian Land and Mortgage Bank - 1999 Results
On 22 June 1999, having reviewed the further development program of the Bank for 1999-2005, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia approved the following strategic activities of the Bank:Added on 01 June 1999 -
The Virtual Mortgage Bank: How Technology is Toppling Traditional Barriers
Mortgage banking is one of the last areas of consumer credit to be affected by the Internet. Electronic commerce has been slow to gain momentum in mortgage banking, but this is changing rapidly. Numerous barriers to true on-line mortgage lending remain, but they are toppling, and online originations can be expected to grow to more than 10% of the total market by 2005.Added on 01 June 1999 -
Housing Finance and Regulation in Euroland
The EURO signals major change right across EU markets presenting opportunities to EU citizens and challenges to EU financial institutions. Housing is high on the social, political and economic agenda in each member state. The housing sector is far from being a single market but is one of the sectors where the EU Commission is seeking to demonstrate the benefit of the single market, now driven by the single currency, to the citizens of Europe.Added on 01 May 1999 -
Expanding Primary and Secondary Mortgage Markets
On April 8 to April 11 1999, over eighty respected Brazilian and Us. business, government, non profit, and academic leaders participated in the second Brazil-Us. Aspen Global Forum on Expanding Primary and Secondary Mortgage Markets and Housing Opportunity, in Sao Roque, Brazil. They included investors, rating agencies, mortgage bankers, originators and servicers, government, quasi government and private sector secondary market participants, and housing policy analysts. Their discussions were vigorous and intense. They cared deeply about finding a way to respond to Brazil's housing priorities in an economically sound and socially conscious manner. While they did not always agree on particulars, they did reach consensus on a broad framework to reform Brazil's housing markets. They also concurred on many immediate strategies and next steps to further Brazil's current efforts to establish effective primary and secondary mortgage markets.This report summarizes the proceedings and describes the participants' discussions and proposals. However, because it relies on written words, the report cannot adequately convey the intellectual and professional commitment of the participants to converting agreed upon policies and programs to reality. We must take some important initial steps without waiting for complete certainty. Indeed, we will never have complete certainty. The Brazil-Us. Aspen Global Forums on Housing have helped link what we know concerning housing problems and the effectiveness of present policies and programs to workable alternatives. We have reduced the risks and expanded the possibilities. We, now, must begin to move, we owe it to the citizens of Brazil (Klumb).
Added on 01 April 1999 -
Future Trends in Housing Finance
Even greater globalization of the capital markets and the ability to segment, package and sell credit risk and interest rate risk will profoundly change the housing finance markets in times ahead. lenders will find a new ability to serve the full spectrum of borrowers as risk-based pricing is smoothly integrated from the secondary market down to the consumer.Added on 01 April 1999 -
Micro-Finance of Housing: A Key to Housing the Low or Moderate-Income Majority?
This paper considers why most households in Latin America and the Caribbean remain unserved by traditional housing finance systems and how micro-finance potentially offers a key to help the low / moderate-income majority meet their shelter needs. The characteristics of micro-finance include small loan size for incremental upgrading of an existing dwelling or a new core unit, short repayment period, small or no subsidy, creative underwriting adapted to the conditions and prospects faced by low / moderate-income, technical assistance in documentation and building, and - sometimes - alternate forms of title as collateral. The article presents the work of the Bolivian NGO PROA as a successful case of micro-finance and draws lessons about the possible expansion of micro-finance in Africa, Asia and Latin America.Added on 01 April 1999 -
IUHF - National Housing Finance Systems - A comparative Study
Added on 01 January 1985