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Government Litigation Risk and the Decline in Low-Income Mortgage Lending

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Abstract
We study the effect of Department of Justice lawsuits in the 2010s against large lenders for alleged fraud in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program. The suits led to more than $5 billion in settlements and caused targeted banks and their peers to precipitously exit the FHA market. Difference-in-differences and triple differences tests exploiting geographic variation in exposure to exiting banks show a 20 percent reduction in FHA lending in heavily exposed areas. This reduction was not associated with improved underwriting standards or lower default rates. Large banks' FHA exit has significantly reduced low-income households' overall access to mortgage credit.

Suggested Citation

  • W. Scott Frame & Kristopher Gerardi & Erik J. Mayer & Billy Xu & Lawrence Zhao, 2024. "Government Litigation Risk and the Decline in Low-Income Mortgage Lending," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2024-6, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedawp:99032
    DOI: 10.29338/wp2024-06
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    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    household finance; banking; mortgage; credit access; litigation; housing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth

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