This Economic Letter discusses some of the research on whether the CRA has helped alleviate any shortfall in LMI home purchase lending. Overall, the literature suggests that, while the effects of the CRA versus the effects of other developments are not easy to separate, access to credit for the...

Although bank small business loan portfolios continue to shrink, there are hints of possible stabilization. Among smaller banks, small business lending that is not backed by commercial real estate looks slightly healthier than small business lending that is secured by commercial property....

This Economic Letter examines what the data say about the relationship between the degree of competition in and total volume of small business lending in local geographic banking markets.

This Letter compares small business loans made by banks inside and outside of a local market area and discusses how the mix might affect the measurement of the degree of competition among lenders.