ABA: Farm Bank Report Shows Ag Lending Up 6 Percent in 2017
Strong performance, asset quality and capital levels in 2017 U.S farm banks increased agricultural lending by nearly 6 percent, or $5.9 billion, to $106 billion in 2017, according to the American Bankers Association’s annual Farm Bank Performance Report. Asset quality remained healthy at the nation’s 1,847 farm banks as non-performing loans fell to a pre-recession…
Census Bureau: 2020 Census Planned Questions Submitted to Congress
Today the U.S. Census Bureau delivered its planned questions for the 2020 Census to Congress, which include age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, relationship, homeownership status, and citizenship status. By law, the Census Bureau must deliver decennial census questions to Congress two years before Census Day, with the next one occurring April 1, 2020. “The goal…
FHFA: Progress Update on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Credit Risk Transfer Programs
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today issued a Credit Risk Transfer Progress Report describing the status and volume of credit risk transfer (CRT) transactions through the fourth quarter of 2017. The Report provides a comprehensive picture of how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) transfer a substantial portion of credit risk to the…
Census Bureau: One in Five Counties in the Nation See Decrease in Uninsured Rate
Over one-third of U.S. counties had an uninsured rate of 10 percent or less in 2016, according to new statistics released today from the U.S. Census Bureau. For the population under age 65, the uninsured rate decreased in 20 percent of counties (629 counties) from 2015 to 2016. These findings come from the Small Area…
HUD and Census Bureau: New Residential Sales Report for February 2018
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential sales statistics for February 2018: New Home Sales Sales of new single-family houses in February 2018 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 618,000. This is 0.6 percent (±13.3 percent)* below the revised January…
FHFA: Index Shows Mortgage Rates Increased in February 2018
Nationally, interest rates on conventional purchase-money mortgages increased from January to February, according to several indices of new mortgage contracts. The National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders Index was 4.28 percent for loans closed in late February, up 16 basis points from 4.12 percent in January….
Federal Reserve: FEDS Notes – Mobile Banking: A Closer Look at Survey Measures
Ellen A. Merry1 The growing use of smartphones and the Internet has brought rapid change to financial services. These new technologies have given consumers and banks new tools for managing money and changed the customer-bank relationship. They have also raised new concerns about security and access. Mobile banking may help to address some challenges consumers…
Census Bureau: New Population Estimates Show Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Has Largest Growth in the U.S.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area’s 146,000-population increase last year was the most of any metro area and Maricopa County, Ariz., saw a population increase of nearly 74,000 — the most of any county last year — according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2017, population estimates released today. The statistics provide population estimates and…
FHFA: House Price Index Up 0.8 Percent in January 2018
U.S. house prices rose in January, up 0.8 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.3 percent increase in December was revised upward to 0.4 percent. The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages…
HUD and Census Bureau: Residential Construction Activity Report February 2018
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Census Bureau jointly announced the following new residential construction statistics for February 2018. Building Permits: Privately owned housing units authorized by building permits in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,298,000. This is 5.7 percent (±0.7 percent) below the revised…